Permanently Impermanent
by bechloe-bible-49
Summary: Pitch Perfect Soulmate/Tattoo AU (I know this has been done before. Give it a chance!) where Beca struggles with not having a soulmate...or so she thought. Will be a multi chapter, Bechloe endgame...side of Staubrey. Starts out in high school but will time jump to Barden-so not really a slow burn.
1. Chapter 1

15-year-old Beca Mitchel stood alone in her bedroom, impatiently waiting for the clock to turn from 11:59pm to 12:00am.

When the clock changed, not only would it signify the change from am to pm, but it would signify the rest of Beca's life. Once the clock turned, Beca would officially be 16.

With that, comes the prospect of her driver's license, an extended curfew perhaps (though highly unlikely knowing her mom), but most importantly: the name of her soul mate, etched permanently across her skin.

That's how it works, the moment you ring in your sweet sixteen, the name of the individual whom you are destined to be with miraculously appears somewhere on your body, offering you the slightest guidance as to the direction the rest of your life will follow. For some, their soul mate's name appears in bold, scrawled visibly across their arm or wrist. While others' are written delicately and confined more privately to one's hip or breast bone. Folklore tells of the unlucky few who woke up on the morning of their 16th birthday, horrified to find their soul mate's name inked permanently across their foreheads for all the world to see. Beca doesn't know if this is true or not—she assumes not—as she nor anyone she knows, has ever seen someone with such an obnoxiously unfortunate tattoo. However, the stories of such "tattoo fails" continue to circulate nevertheless, terrifying all the anxious 15 year olds, as a sort of ritualistic practical joke.

Beca however, wasn't concerned with the prospect of potentially waking up on her sixteenth birthday to see her soul mate's name written across her face. No, Beca was more anxious to see whether her soul mate would reveal themselves as male or female.

Sure, the whole tattoo thing made denying one's sexuality virtually impossible. Nonetheless, whenever someone emerged the next day with a definitively male or female name scrawled across their skin, there was often some public hesitation—and occasionally, backlash. This meant that of the 10% of soul mates who fail to "couple"—due to divorce, death or failure to find one another—about half are gays, who lost their partners either to suicide or to public pressure.

However, in Beca's opinion, the worst of all was when someone would wake up on the morning of their 16th, only to find themselves inked with a gender ambiguous name—left alone to sort through their confusion and the thousands of "Alex's" or "Sam's", in hopes of stumbling upon the one single person whom they were meant to spend their life with.

So this is where Beca stands now: in front of her bedroom's full length mirror, anxiously waiting for her soul mate's name to appear somewhere on her ivory skin; to resolve all of her lingering questions, fears and internal conflict.

Beca wasn't stupid. She knows she's had feelings for both men and women in her life—Actually, scratch that. Beca Mitchell doesn't get feelings for people, she gets turned on by people. While most wouldn't dare approach the infamous alt girl, the few who did dare "poke the beast"—pun intended—ranged from older, to younger, male, to female, experienced, to "abstinent", Beca didn't care. If someone was looking for a good time with no emotional involvement, Beca was in. It didn't honestly matter to her if she was being used for a good time or as a quick "experiment", because at the end of the day, Beca was using them all the same. Beca got her moment of brief intimacy from her ventures without ever having to be truly intimate with anyone, never exposing more of herself to others than her stone cold exterior. This was how she liked it; this was what she was what she was used to; this is what she had perfected; this was her motto: keep everyone at an arms length.

You see, ever since she was a little girl, Beca has struggled to connect with people. While all the other girls in her class would spend their time fawning over boys at recess and giggling together over their Barbie dolls, Beca always preferred the solitude of her own company. This was only made worse by Beca's parents' nasty divorce, which left her untrusting of others and terrified of the potential pain caused by emotional attachment.

However, despite Beca's persistent actions to barricade herself from others, she has always longed for that intrinsic connection others seem to forge so easily. Beca has always felt as though she was shunted of that experience with her parents, and so, the advent of her soul mate's name signifies so much more to her than just her potential spouse; it signifies a chance for Beca to truly connect with someone outside of herself, to feel loved, to show love, and above all else, to not be alone.

Beca had always hoped her soul mate and she would be different than her parents. So while she may hide behind her harsh eyeliner and sarcastic demeanor, effectively shrugging off anyone who got too close, what Beca secretly craved was just for someone to try. Plain and simple. Beca wanted someone to try in a way her father never did: someone who was willing to fight for her, to work to break down her walls, someone who honestly cared about Beca: not Beca Mitchel the infamous badass or _good time_ , but Beca the person. So, Beca rationalized that if no one was willing to do that, then she would rather be alone. But even the big bad Beca Mitchell got lonely. So for Beca, her hopes of one day finding someone who cared enough to fight for her and to break down her walls, were highlighted in golden letters by her potential soul mate's name.

**BZZZZZZZ**

Beca was jolted from her thoughts as her phone alarm went off, signaling the transition from her past to her future.

Beca stood there, flooded with a combination of anxiety and excitement. She closed her eyes tightly, balling her firsts at her side in anticipation, as she slowly counted to ten in her head.

Beca exhaled a shaky breath as she slowly opened her eyes, relieved to see that her forehead was in fact ink-free.

"So far so good", Beca thought to herself, as she continued to scan her exposed skin, searching like a hawk for the inevitable black marking.

Beca leaned in closer to the mirror, checking her face: No, Arms? No, Wrists? No, Hip? No, Calves? No? Ankles? No?!

Growing more impatient, Beca turned around, scanning the back of her body as best she could in the mirror.

Shoulders?! No, Arms?! NO, Back?! No? Legs!? NO?! Feet maybe? NO!?

Beca's impatient excitement slowly turned into anxious confusion, as she began tugging at her bra and sleep shorts, expecting to find that promised name etched somewhere hidden by the thin fabric. But no. It wasn't there. Turning more frantic by the second, Beca began searching her hair line, ears, toes, even inside of her mouth, trying to find her soul mate's name.

Beca knew some people's tattoos were more obscure than others, but surely it shouldn't be this hard to find, she thought to herself. After ten minutes of inspecting every inch of her body, Beca finally allowed the realization to sink in. Dejectedly, Beca exhaled a slow breath as she leaned her back against the mirror and slumped to the floor. After a second, the shock of the situation passed, and Beca began to feel her eyes cloud with tears and her chest constrict with a shattering pain, not dissimilar to the anguish she felt the day her father left.

"Its not there", Beca said shakily to herself, as she tried to breathe through the pain. And with that, the tears began to flow, leaving Beca quietly sobbing on her bedroom floor, trying her best not to wake her sleeping mother.

After countless minutes had passed and Beca appeared all cried out, her mind began to race.

"This isn't possible" she said to herself, "Everyone has a soul mate. For God's sake, even Sweaty Steven has a tattoo on his bicep." And she was right, as far as Beca knew, everyone had a soul mate. That was the one constant everyone could count on in their life. It didn't matter if you were a guy or a girl, if you were fat, Catholic, Muslim, white, black, racist, sexist, rich or poor, EVERYONE HAS A SOULMATE! Or so Beca thought.

Even with all of the "tattoo fails" circulating, Beca had never once heard of someone who didn't get a tattoo on their 16th birthday. At this thought Beca's anguish turned into pure rage. Of course she has a soul mate, she thought to herself. Everyone has one, so of course she has one. Maybe she just didn't look well enough. She was pretty nervous when she first looked, maybe she just missed it, she rationalized to herself.

With that, Beca shot up off of the floor, wiping her dried tears with the backs of her hands, and once again began scanning her body—only this time, with more purpose. As she continued to find nothing but skin, Beca's anger grew, merging with her previous feelings of fear and confusion. Beca began angrily ripping at her clothing, fighting to remove the fabric from her body, as tears once again flooded her vision. Standing naked in front of her mirror, there was no other explanation…Beca simply didn't have a tattoo.

Making eye contact with herself in the mirror, Beca saw nothing but a shell of a person. Her sadness and disparity were evident in her navy eyes, as Beca could no longer hold onto the hope of one day finding her perfect match. She was alone, she was going to have to get used to that…she was used to that.

Surrendering to the reality of the situation, Beca tiredly redressed and crawled into bed. Beca wrapped herself in a cocoon of blankets, desperately trying to reproduce the warmth and comfort she now knew she would never have.

"Happy fucking birthday, Beca", she mumbled to herself sadly as she closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep.


	2. Chapter 2

_Hi everyone. Thanks for the great response so far!  
_

 _I am working on chapter 3 now. Chapter 3 will time jump to Barden, and Chloe will finally make an appearance!_

 _I know where I want this story to go, and how I want it to end. However, I am going to need some filler chapters to get to that point. If anyone has any ideas or prompts for what you want to see, comment or message me and I will see what I can do._

 _Thanks again :)_

 _Without further a due, here is chapter 2 for ya!_

 **Chapter 2**

The next morning Beca woke up to her alarm clock blaring. Squeezing her eyes shut tight for a brief moment, Beca groaned and lazily rolled over, reaching an arm out to silence the offending object.

Smacking the clock off with her hand, Beca slowly opened her eyes to see the clock read 7:00 am.

"Fuck my life", she mumbled to herself and she fought to keep her eyes open.

It was a Tuesday, and so like every other weekday morning, Beca had to wake up at "the ass crack of dawn" as she referred to it, make herself breakfast (which to be fair, was usually just coffee and cereal. So not much actual _making_ was involved) and walk herself to school.

Beca's mom worked as a nurse at the hospital downtown, and so, more often than not, she was already up and out of the house by the time Beca woke for school.

When Beca's dad left, her mom had to start picking up more and more shift at the hospital just to avoid having to sell Beca's childhood home. Beca's dad had always been the primary breadwinner of the family, and so when he left, money became much tighter. He had offered to pay support, and had actually started to do so, when Beca caught wind and confronted him, demanding he stop and angrily stating that "his money couldn't fix the damage he had done", and that, "she didn't want anything to do with him, his new life, or his blood money". Warren didn't argue with that, and Beca's mom—respecting her daughter's decision—had told him that if Beca didn't want his money, they would make due on their own. It wasn't ideal, and it meant that Beca didn't get to see a lot of her mom, but as her mom had told her countless times before, "it wasn't Beca's problem to worry about" and "she was doing it for her", so Beca could have the things she needed and so—hopefully—one day she could help pay for Beca to move to L.A.

Today was no different. Despite it being Beca's birthday, her mom still had to be at the hospital at 5:00am to start her shift. While most mornings Beca would lament not being able to see her mom before school, today was different. Her mom's presence at work meant that Beca could postpone the inevitable birthday cheer and endless questions about the new addition to her skin. Of course Beca was heartbroken and confused by her lack of a tattoo, but how is she expected to break the news to her mother? I mean, how do you tell your mom, out of everyone on the planet, her child is the only one so unlovable as to not have a soul mate? It made Beca's stomach drop just thinking about having to tell her. But at least she didn't have to do it right now. She would have all day to process the information and figure out a way to break the news to her mom.

Right now, Beca's biggest concern was school. Right now, Beca had to get her ass in gear and get herself ready or she would be late.

Rubbing the sleep from her eyes, Beca got up, got dressed—checking once more for that promised ink—and proceeded to go through her morning routine effectively sleep walking. She hadn't gotten much sleep last night. Apart from going to bed somewhere around 1:00am, she had also tossed and turned all night, unable to ever get comfortable, as her mind flooded with nightmares of being trapped alone in a dark room, only for the floor to eventually give out and send her tumbling down into a never ending pit of darkness.

Shaking herself out of her sleepy daze, Beca downed the last few sips of her second cup of coffee, slid off of the kitchen stool and haphazardly dumped her empty cup and cereal bowl into the dishwasher.

Shrugging on her favorite leather jacket and backpack, Beca popped her headphones over her ears and went off on her way to school.

XXX

Rounding the corner onto Sherwood Drive, Macon High came into view. Beca looked up from her otherwise locked view of the sidewalk to see that apart from a few students lounging on the front lawn and the occasional kid scurrying from the bus stop across the street, the school was relatively quiet. Knowing that this meant she was either late—per usual—or early enough to have arrived before the massive flood of high schoolers began, Beca slid her phone out of her pocket to check the time. Much to her surprise, Beca's phone read 8:09 am, giving her 21 minutes until first period started, and about 10 more until the flood began.

High fiving herself internally, Beca made her way towards the front entrance of the building. "Well at least that's one less problem to worry about", Beca thought to herself. She really didn't feel like having to defend herself to her teacher this morning, had she been late again.

Walking through the empty hallways of the school, Beca made her way to her locker. Stopping in front of her locker, Beca began turning the combination for her lock when she felt a tap on her shoulder. Turning around Beca was met with the unimpressed expression of her school principal, Mr. Carrie. Mr. Carrie motioned with his hands for Beca to remove her head phones, nodding curtly when she had done so.

"No headphones in the halls Miss Mitchell, we've been over this", he said dryly.

"But school hasn't even started yet and there's no one here," she said, her voiced laced with both frustration and genuine confusion.

Raising his eyebrows challengingly at her he stated, "Rules are rules Rebecca. If you have a problem with the rules _I_ enforce in _my_ school, you are more than welcome to stop by my office at any time to _discuss_ such matters". Nodding his head at her as if to say "understand?", he turned on his heel and headed back down the hall.

"Asshat", Beca muttered to herself as she turned back to her locker.

She had made it very clear during her many interactions with the principal that she preferred to be called Beca, and yet, every time he spoke with her he seemed to make a point of calling her Rebecca. Whatever, Beca didn't have the energy to dwell on Mr. Carrie's incessant need to criticize her today, she had enough on her plate as it was, as she didn't need detention on top of that.

Just as she was closing her locker and turning to walk towards her first class, she heard it.

"BECAW!"

"Shit", she mumbled as she closed her eyes and let out a long breath, trying desperately to keep her composure as she braced herself for the inevitable conversation with her best friend.

Jesse was her best and arguably only friend. Beca supposes that may be a blessing today, given her current predicament.

Having friends means people know your birthday. If Beca were more social, people would know today was her 16th birthday and would be all over her asking to see her new tattoo. It was the routine; whenever someone at their school turned 16, everyone fawned over their new tattoo while the birthday girl of boy gushed about what they thought or wanted their soul mate to be like. And why wouldn't they? Every one gets a soul mate tattoo, so why not show it off? Yeah well, not for Beca.

But even though Beca kept a very limited friend's list, that still left one person…Jesse.

Beca had known Jesse since she was eight, when his family moved from Washington to Georgia. Buying the house three doors down for hers. Jesse's family had since moved from Beca's street to a larger home about five minutes away, but their friendship had remained iron clad.

While Jesse tells anyone who will listen that their friendship was instant, in reality, Jesse's overtly cheerful introduction—and whopping bear hug—was met with a swift punch in the face from eight-year-old Beca's fist, leaving poor Jesse crying on Beca's front yard. When Jesse stopped crying though, Beca was shocked he didn't immediately turn and run to tattle on her to his parents. Instead, Jesse dusted himself off and said, "your supposed to fist bump my hand, not my face—but I guess I'll let this one slide", showing off his classic toothy grin. Ever since then, Jesse has been the one person Beca couldn't seem to push away.

Jesse always found a way to push through her walls, often times knowing what she was thinking better than herself. Sharing in their common love of music, Jesse and Beca would often spend hours on end listening to Jesse's dad's records, or arguing over the best songs, genres and artists of all time. Jesse was there for Beca wen her parents split. He never pushed her to talk, instead just sitting with her while she cried or absentmindedly listened to music in her room. He was even there the day her anger got the best of her and she threw the stereo her dad had bought her the year before out her window. Once she had calmed down, Jesse went out and retrieved the broken stereo. He later took it to a local repair shop, and had it fixed with the money he had saved from mowing lawns that summer. When he presented the fully functional stereo back to Beca, he told her he understood why she wouldn't want to keep something that reminded her of her dad and all that she didn't have now, but that if she wanted to get rid of it so badly, she should at least sell the damn thing and go buy something better, like a gift for her best friend. She then laughed for the first time since her dad left.

Jesse was a good guy, he cared about Beca and knew how to handle her moods and sarcasm without taking offence. Besides her mom, Jesse was probably the only person who had the privilege of seeing—and knowing about—Beca's truly human side.

Beca and Jesse were so close in fact, that people often mistook them for a couple. On more than one occasion, while hooking up with some drunk guy or girl at a party, Beca would get asked "what about your boyfriend, Jesse?". To say that killed the mood would be the understatement of the century. Not once had Beca ever thought of Jesse as anything more than her goofy best friend/ quasi brother. Okay, so they kissed once at a party in middle school on a dare, but it was the most awkward kiss Beca has ever had, and neither one felt anything more than uncomfortable and wrong following the event.

Jesse still teased Beca though about the prospect of her maybe being his soul mate. He would make kissy faces at her and annoy her with comments about how great of a taste in music their future kids would inevitably have. Beca would just stare back at him with an unimpressed glare and throw the occasional pillow to the head. But once Jesse turned 16—a mere three months ago—and the name Jennifer appeared on his right shoulder blade, the jokes stopped. And Beca finally let out a relieved breath. Its not that she didn't love Jesse, because she did, but the thought—even as small as it was—that she could be Jesse's soul mate grossed her out to no end. She couldn't imagine kissing Jesse for real, let alone having sex with him. So she was undoubtedly relieved the morning after his sweet sixteen when he showed her the name on his back, bearing absolutely no resemblance to her own.

Now though, that didn't seem so bad. At least then she would have a soul mate

Turning around, Beca was met with Jesse happily skipping over to her, sporting a knowing look in his eyes. It was as if Jesse was trying to hide his excitement but his body just couldn't contain it. The resulting picture reminded Beca of the time the soft serve machine broke at their local ice cream parlour. The young girl working behind the counter had tried desperately to catch all of the free flowing ice-cream using her hands, only for the soft dessert to ooze out between her fingers and run down her arms onto the floor below. Once Jesse finally approached Beca his "resolve" melted completely. Letting out a squeal Beca would swear came from the mouth of a six-year-old girl, Jesse looked to her expectantly motioning his hand as if to ask her to "just say it already".

Clearly not buying into Jesse's tactics, not to mention trying to avoid this conversation altogether, Beca instead said, "you seriously need to stop calling me that dude. Or do you need another Beca Mitchell knuckle sandwich to the face to knock some sense into you?"

"Ha ha ha, very funny" he replied cheekily. "Now seriously. Tell me, what did you get?!" He said, repeatedly whacking the back of his hand against her upper arm in impatience. "Can I see it?! Is it in a cool spot?! Is it a spot people can see? Its not on your forehead, so that's good!" Stopping briefly to take an exaggerated breath, Jesse continued. "Is it a cool name? I bet it is. I mean look at you, your soul mate would have to be cool to keep up with you. I bet it's like a real 'cool guy' name like Cruz, or Ryder, or Axel. Or maybe its one of those scary biker names like Crash, or Spike, or Rex, or Duke. But I guess those are mostly nicknames, and you would get their birth names as your tattoo…" He said rambling on.

"Dude! You seriously need to stop hanging out with me so much", she said backing away from his hand and rubbing her arm dramatically. "You're getting too violent; and while I can dole it like nobody's business, we all know I'm not a huge fan of the whole receiving it part" she said, again trying to divert their conversation away from Jesse's current topic.

"Whatever, you love me" he said teasingly. "Now seriously, are you going to tell me what you got? You're acting like this isn't the life changing moment we all know it is. Now, I know you're not a movie buff and hopeless romantic life yours truly" he said motioning to himself, "but come on, how can the prospect of meeting your future spouse not excite you even a little? This is your movie moment Becs; this is the precursor to your meet cute!"

Again, something inside Beca broke. Hearing Jesse speak so animatedly about the romance behind discovering one's soul mate, to eventually meeting one another, to spending a lifetime together, didn't give Beca the giddy butterflies like it should—like it did for everyone else. Instead, it just made Beca feel endlessly lonely.

Seeing her face flash from playful sarcasm to a tight jawed, worrisome expression, Jesse stepped in front of Beca, blocking her from continuing down the hall.

"Oh my God! Is it a bad name? Is it a grandpa name?" he said mockingly in a hushed voice. "Because I could see how having Batholomule or Alfred tattooed across your body might make you less than enthusiastic to meet your soul mate."

"Shut up Jesse", she said rolling her eyes and trying to push past him, only for Jesse to grab her shoulders and hold her back in front of him.

"Is this a vulnerability thing? Because need I remind you, I've seen you cry Beca Mitchell. Your tough girl act may be fooling everyone else, but you and I both know that under that hard candy coating you hide under, you're really just a ball of fluffy mush", he again said jokingly.

"I'm leaving now", Beca said, discomfort evident in her voice, along with something else that Jesse couldn't seem to place—Anger? Sadness? Embarrassment? Little did he know it was all three.

Turning on her heel, Beca set off walking down the hall, dodging the plethora of students now occupying the building.

Sensing he had struck a nerve, Jesse pushed through the hordes of teenagers to catch up with Beca. Grabbing her by the arm, Jesse pulled Beca into a small connecting hallway, which led to the A.V. and mechanical room. The hall was empty as a constant stream of students flowed through the main hall, paying no attention to the two teens standing in the offshoot.

Turning Beca to face him, Jesse's expression softened. "Is it a girl? Because I know you've had your fair share of women in your black book of hookups—which by the way, I sincerely hope stop now that you know who your soul mate is, or sort of know who they are—but a hook up and a soul mate are two completely different things. So I could understand how that might be scary for you. But you know that it wouldn't change anything; I wouldn't judge you, and neither would your mom, and anyone who would judge you is a waste of your time anyways."

"You know what?" she said throwing her hands up in the air defensively, willing the tears not to break out, "I'm not doing this with you right now" she said, turning to walk away. Midway through her first step, she quickly turned around to look Jesse dead in the eyes, "and FYI, its not a girl. So you can save your speech for the next pride parade". This time, turning with purpose and starting to walk away.

"Beca", Jesse called as he grabbed her again and pulled her back into the quiet hall. "Seriously, what is up with you? What happened. Whatever it is, you can tell me" he said, hoping his concern was expressed fully in his words.

Closing her eyes for a moment and taking a deep breath, Beca exhaled and looked sadly into Jesse's chocolate brown eyes.

"I didn't get one", she said quietly, suddenly overcome with emotions at having said the confession out loud, and to someone else for the first time since.

"What? I don't think I heard you right", he said.

"I didn't get one, okay? It's not there. I don't have a tattoo. I don't have a soul mate", she said louder in volume, as a solitary tear slipped down her cheek.

Quickly wiping the rogue tear from her face with the back of her hand, Beca refused to meet Jesse's gaze, instead looking up and trying to prevent the ocean of tears behind her eyes from flowing like Niagara Falls.

"I-I don't understand". "I mean I do understand", he added quickly, "bu-but how is that even possible?" he asked dumbfounded. "Everyone gets a soul mate tattoo. That's just how it works; how it's always worked. You wake up on the morning of your 16th birthday, and somewhere on your body is the name of your soul mate in permanent ink. How could you not have one?" At this point, he was just thinking aloud, trying his best to wrap his mind around what Beca had already come to terms with last night—or rather, very early this morning.

"I don't know Jesse. I didn't think it was possible, but apparently it is" Beca replied, sounding exhausted by the whole ordeal.

"No." Jesse said adamantly. "I've never heard of anyone not having a tattoo. Its just not possible. Even people whose soul mates die, still get their soul mate's name as a tattoo on their sweet sixteen. You mustn't have looked hard enough. Are you sure you checked everywhere? Ears, nose, armpits? Everywhere?" "Here, let me check your hair. Maybe's its on your scalp and you just can't see it because your hair is brown?" Jesse rationalized, moving forward with outstretched hands ready to start picking through Beca's hair.

"Jesse, stop", Beca said calmly, grabbing his outstretch hands and bringing them back down to his sides.

"It's not there, Jess. I looked. Trust me, I looked everywhere. I checked twice last night and again this morning. I even looked inside of my mouth. It's simply not there. It's not there, because I don't have a soul mate. I don't know how that's possible, but apparently it is".

"I refuse to accept that. I know you've made an image of yourself as this cold hearted badass, but I know that you, Beca Mitchell, are far from unlovable and are very capable of loving" Jesse said genuinely. Thinking so himself for a moment Jesse's eyes suddenly lit up like a light bulb. "I know!" he said excitedly. "Maybe you're not actually 16. Maybe you were a genius baby and skipped a grade or something and your parents never told you. That would mean this was your 15th birthday and not your 16th. So, you do have a soul mate, of course you have one! You just have to wait until next year!"

"Seriously? You think the girl who is barely passing pre-calc and has a C average was a genius baby? Yeah, of the most unlikely explanations for this shit show, that's the least likely" Beca said, clearly not buying Jesse's reasoning.

"Bec-" Jesse started.

"No. It's okay. I mean its not okay, it sucks. But, that's what it is. This is just another card in the shitty hand of life I seem to have been dealt. But its okay, I'm used to being alone. Hell, I've perfected it."

"Don't give me that crap Beca. I know you say you like to be alone, and you do everything in your power to isolate yourself from others, but in reality you wanted a soul mate just as much as every one else. Heck, maybe even more. You can lie to me all you want and try to downplay this situation by making it seem like you are perfectly fine and have no emotions over it, but I know better. I know you better than to buy that crap, Beca."

"Thanks Jesse, but you don't have to pity me" she countered, her words thinly laced with venom. "I'm fine. I've come to grips with this. It is what it is: Beca Mitchel, the girl so unlovable, she doesn't even have a soul mate…put that on my forehead".

Just as Jesse opened his mouth to say something, the bell rang. Glancing up, as if to spot the ringing bell, by the time Jesse lowered his gaze back to Beca, she was off.


	3. Chapter 3

_Hello everyone! Thanks so much for the great response so far. This is my first fic, so to have such a great response has been amazing. I'm really enjoying writing this so far, and the chapters just seem to keep getting longer and longer!_

 _For all those who have been waiting, Chloe finally makes her big reveal in this chapter. Things will start to move quickly from here on out._

 _Again, as I have said before, I will need some filler chapters between here and the ending. So, if anyone has anything they would like to see happen with the girls let me know. I know its probably still too early to know where things are going and to make suggestions, but give it a whirl anyways!_

 _Thanks so much._

 _Here's chapter 3!_

 **Chapter 3**

XXX Time Jump: 2 Years Later XXX

Beca was sitting in the back seat of a yellow taxi cab with her headphones securely planted over her ears, staring out the window as the driver wove the car through the small streets of Barden, Georgia. Beca had been in the cab for a little over an hour, the Labor Day traffic making the ride longer than usual from Macon to Barden. For some, an hour in a dingy old cab may be enough to make them want to pull out their hair, but Beca wasn't bothered by the ride. She had simply slipped her headphones on from the get go, blasted her music, and zoned out completely.

Beca was suddenly jolted from her music induced trance as the taxi came to a sudden stop, jerking her forward in her seat. The drive had unceremoniously slammed on the breaks to avoid hitting a hoard of students, who had carelessly gone running across the street to greet another group of friends on the other side.

"Oof", Beca grunted as her hands quickly flew out to brace herself from hitting her face flat against the seat in front of her.

Scooching herself back into her proper seat, Beca slipped her headphones off of her ears, to see what was going on, leaving them hanging around her neck.

"Damn kids", the driver muttered under his breath. Pushing the palm of his right hand hard on the horn of the steering wheel, "move it or lose it", he hollered coldly to the kids through his partly rolled down window.

The only response he got in return was one kid's middle finger, held up towards the cab as the group finished crossing the street.

"Welcome to Barden" he then said, his voice lacking in sincerity, turning to direct his voice towards the backseat, while keeping his eyes fixed in the road ahead

Driving through the entrance gates, Beca peered out her window, judgementally raking her eyes over the school she would be spending the next 8 months at. The school grounds were packed full of eager freshman and their accompanying parents, forcing the cab to slow as it moved through the small campus streets. There were a few kids crying by their cars with their parents, while others seemed relieved to be free, and then there was the occasional kid engaged in a full on screaming match with their parents over how to properly handle their boxes or for flat out being embarrassing.

That was the one nice thing about coming on her own. Unlike these other fools, Beca wouldn't have to deal with her mother's tearful goodbye or last minute mothering—mothering, smothering? Same difference—in front of her future classmates. Instead, Beca was able to get that all out of the way in the privacy of her own home, and then arrive and unpack at her own pace.

Per usual, Beca's mom—Jill—had another shift at the hospital, so Beca's plan to avoid all public displays of emotion worked out perfectly. Her mom had offered to take a vacation day so she could drive Beca down to Barden and help her unpack, but Beca had refused, saying she was fine to go on her own and that the car ride down would give her time to think. After all, Barden was really only 45 minutes from Macon, so her mom could easily come down on her next day off or Beca could take a cab or bus back home one weekend to see her.

Jill knew Beca wasn't keen on going to Barden, so she didn't push she issue any further. Instead, opting to let Beca do her own thing, as to not further rock the boat.

To say Beca was less than thrilled to be at Barden was a serious understatement. Her plan had always been to graduate high school, get the hell out of Georgie, move to L.A., and then start her career in the music industry—slowly working her way up, until she was a full fledged music producer.

But, just before her senior year's spring break—the week before college applications were due—Beca's father made an unceremonious visit to speak with Beca and her mother. Warren and Jill still emailed each other occasionally. Despite their rocky divorce, Jill had always done her best to remain civil with Warren, just in case Beca did ever decide to rekindle her relationship with her father. And so, in an effort to keep Warren in the loop of his daughter's life, Jill would email Warren Beca's yearly schools photos or a brief snippet whenever Beca reached a noteworthy milestone, like winning the school's music award or getting her drivers license. Beca to this day, is still not sure if her mother ever told her father about her tattoo, never bothering to ask Jill or show any sort of interest in Warren or his new life altogether. She assumed though, that since her dad hadn't called her to get a full explanation of the situation and try to piece together a logical explanation—being the true academic he was—he mustn't know. Beca thinks that's probably for the best. Warren hadn't shown any real interest in Beca's life before, so why should he be privy to know her greatest insecurity and darkest secret.

So you can imagine Beca's surprise when she opened the door one afternoon to find her father standing in the doorway. Apparently her mother had emailed Warren to let him know of Beca's impending high school graduation—date, time, that sort of thing, in case he wanted to show. Warren had then replied—ignoring the invitation altogether—asking what Beca's plans were for after graduation. Clearly, he was less than thrilled to hear his only daughter was planning to skip out on college in favor of moving to L.A. to pursue a career in music. Warren was adamant that the very idea of moving to L.A. was asinine and Beca's hopes of 'making it big' were unrealistic. So, he marched himself down to Macon, in hopes of persuading his daughter to attend Barden University in the fall. Warren was a tenured professor at the school, and with that, came the perk of free tuition for any children he may have. So Naturally, he wasn't about to let his only child waste her potential on what he deemed a silly hobby, especially when she could get a full college education _FOR FREE_.

However, Beca was quick to shut down his offer, stating she didn't need a college degree to become a music producer. In fact, all college would do was postpone her "paying her dues" in L.A.

Warren scoffed at this.

But sensing she wasn't going to back down any time soon, Warren proposed a compromise: Beca attend Barden for a full year, and, if at the end of the year she still wanted to leave and move to LA, he would pay for all her moving expenses and first year's rent. Beca was stubborn, but she wasn't stupid. Moving to L.A. would cost her a small fortune, and renting an apartment in California would surely cost her an arm and a leg. Sure, her mom had been working overtime to save up some extra cash to help with the move, and Beca had been working odd jobs since she was 14 to save for herself, but this, this was huge. With the money she would save on the move, she could invest in some new mixing equipment or perhaps even buy a used car for herself.

So, she begrudgingly accepted her father's offer. After all, all she had to do was get through one year at Barden. It wouldn't be so hard. She would just take some basic intro courses, work on her mixes, and maybe take advantage of the free booze and babes at a few way too stereotypical college parties.

Plus, Jesse would be there.

It just so happened that Jesse's number one college pick was also the school Beca's dad taught at. Little to Beca's knowledge, Barden had a great film and multimedia program, as well as a rather extensive list of music classes. So when Jesse told Beca that he had been accepted into Barden and that that was where he was planning to attend, she was relieved to know that at least she would have him by her side next year.

Unloading her bags from the back of the cab, Beca heard the all to familiar,

"BECAW!"

"Beca, hey!", Jesse yelled excitedly as he practically skipped down the sidewalk to meet her.

"What is he, a fucking bloodhound?", Beca thought to herself.

Quickly paying her cab fare, Beca swung her computer bag over her shoulder and lugged her suitcases off of the street and onto the curb.

"Hey, Jess" she replied, far from matching his enthusiasm.

"Seriously Bec, you took a taxi?"

She shrugged.

He laughed and shook his head in comic disbelief, "Classic Beca."

"You know, if you aren't careful people are gonna start to think your dad's a taxi driver".

"Better that than a professor here", she replied, sarcasm dipping from every word.

Knowing he shouldn't engage in _that_ conversation, Jesse quickly switched gears. "So, do you need any help setting up your room? I got here a few hours ago, so mine is already done. Although, I didn't really have to do much since my roommate claimed most of the wall space for his Star Wars memorabilia. So I basically just made by bed and threw my clothes in a drawer. But I could help you if you want."

Beca's first instinct was to turn him down before he could even finish his sentence. Buuutttt, lately she's been trying to not be such a dismissive bitch—to Jesse in particular. Since finding out she doesn't have a soul mate, Beca had made a mental note to herself to try and be a better friend to Jesse—more like the kind he was and had always been to her. After all, without a soul mate he was really all she had left, and she truly didn't want to lose his friendship too.

"Uh, yeah. Sure, I guess that would be cool", she replied unsurely, still not totally comfortable with accepting people's help. "Thanks", she added quickly, as to not sound so indifferent.

Immediately stepping up and helping her with her suitcases, Jesse and Beca headed to the information desk set up at the main floor common room, so Beca could get her finalized room number and roommate information. The two then trudged up to the third floor of Baker Hall's freshman wing to get Beca settled in.

While Beca huffed and heaved about there being no working elevator—besides the handicap only one—as the pair ascended the three flights of stairs, Jesse chose to ignore her usual irritancy with life itself, instead opting to debrief Beca on his...animated…roommate, Benji.

"He actually seems really nice. But, he has a dove Beca. A Dove! Oh, and a hamster. So that's two living creatures currently being housed in our dorm room. I mean, I have allergies, Beca!" Jesse rambled nervously. Clearly his post-move-in jitters were starting to show.

"Well, hey, at least you know that if you go out in public with him, you wont be the weirdest one in the room for a change." Beca said offering her signature smirk and chuckling under her breath.

"Oh, shut up, _Beca"_ , Jesse joked from behind her, as she opened the door to her home for the next 8 months.

The wo then stumbled into the small room, Jesse eagerly pushing around Beca, only to be stopped dead in his tracks by two glaring eyes burning into his skull.

Jesse was _very_ familiar with a scowling woman. After all, he was Beca's best friend. But this girl, she had Beca beat glare per glare times a hundred.

Leaning in to Beca, Jesse turned his face away from the other girl's death stare and whispered to his friend seriously, "do we run or play dead?".

Keeping her amusement at bay, Beca smacked Jesse's upper arm, and stepped forward to greet her new roommate. Although, to be honest, she found herself seriously contemplating Jesse's suggestion to run…that, or maybe retreat into the fetal position.

"Hi, uhm, I'm Beca. You must be Kimmy Jin?" Beca says, looking down at the welcome pamphlet she was given earlier to make sure she had gotten the girl's name right.

Silence.

The girl just stares back at Beca, her face, void of any emotion whatsoever.

Beca's not sure the girl has even blinked since she and Jesse first entered the room.

Desperately trying to ease the awkward tension in the air, Jesse finally gains enough courage to step up with Beca and direct an out sretched hand towards the other girl.

"And I'm Jesse", he says cheerfully, "Beca's best friend and translator in social situations".

Again, silence.

At least this time the girl shifts her gaze to glare at Jesse's hand, still outstretched and awaiting a welcoming shake, instead of at the confused—and slightly terrified—pair standing in front of her.

"Not into handshakes? Okay, I'll give. They are a bit formal. How about a fist bump?", He jokes, now closed his hand into a tight fist. "No? High five?" He says, his voice now growing in pitch as he desperately tries to get some sort of a reaction from the mysterious girl.

"Dude, stop", Beca tells Jesse, promptly swinging both of her hands up to drop Jesse's back to his side.

"No English?", Beca asks Kimmy Jin slowly, over exaggerating her mouth movements to emphasize each syllable.

No response.

"Yes English?", she adds quirking an eyebrow.

"Just tell me where you're at with English."

The Asian girl simply turns around, again refusing to acknowledge the confused duo, and starts busying herself with a messenger bag she has laying on her crisp white bedspread.

"Okayyyyy. Well I guess we should start setting up my stuff then?", Beca asks Jesse, returning to her usual mode of speech.

"Yeah. Okay." Jesse says, still eyeing the other girl questionably.

Beca and Jesse then get going unpacking all of Beca's belongings—which, to be fair are really only two suitcases worth of essentials and Beca's music equipment. But then again, she would argue that her music gear was far more essential than her own tooth brush. So, same difference. While Beca got started unloading her laptop, soundboard and other accompanying gear, Jesse was banned from touching her music equipment and instead was given the oh so satisfying job of setting up Beca's bed and folding her—non intimate! Beca had made sure to stuff those away in a drawer first—clothing.

"I'm going to the activities fair", Kimmy Jin finally spoke in a monotone voice.

Beca and Jesse whipped their heads in unison to look at the other girl with wide eyes and open jaws.

Too in shock too even speak, the friends simply watched as Kimmy Jin grabbed her bag and left exited the small dorm room through the still open door.

"It speaks", Jesse mused.

Beca chuckled in response.

"Okay, so Benji doesn't seem nearly so bad now. I mean living with rodents is one thing, but coming home to find your roommate boiling one for her satanic rituals is where I draw the line", he added, as he tried to hide his laughter with mock seriousness.

"Shut up. She's not going to do voodoo, Jesse" Beca said return to her electronics.

"Oh god, what if she does do voodoo!" she then freaks, whipping back around to face Jesse as he struggles with her fitted sheet.

"She could be a sociopath Jesse. Dude, she could murder me!"

Finally tucking the last corner of the sheet snugly under the mattress, Jesse stands and turns to face Beca. "Alright calm down, I was kidding. Besides voodoo is more African or Haitian or something, not Asian. I think the most you have to be worried about is her fucking with the Feng Shui on your side of the room", he jokes, wiggling his fingers in her face as if he were a witch casting a spell.

Letting out a deep moan of frustration, Beca flips Jesse off and goes back to untangling one of the wires connected to her mixing board. "Dude, why did I have to get the roommate from hell?!"

"Hey, at least you know that if you go out with her, you wont be the bitchiest one in the room for a change", Jesse said in a mocking tone, throwing her words from earlier back in her face.

"Ha ha", she says dryly. "Whatever, at least she wont bother me to be 'best friends forever'!" she says, doing her best valley girl impression, "or any of that other sorority girl crap".

"Well, its only for this year. Then you can join an actual sorority next year, and make all the BFF's and charm bracelets your little heart desires." Jesse says, teasing his friend.

"Fuck that. All I've got to do is survive this year, then I'm out of here and off to L.A. I'm just going to take some easy as shit intro courses, work on my music, and maybe dip my toe into that college party pond everyone raves about. I mean come on, on the ride in alone I saw like twenty doable people. That's more than our entire high school housed last year."

Before Jesse could even respond, someone behind the two cleared their throat loudly.

"That's not the deal, Rebecca", Warren said as he moved from the doorway and into the small room.

Scoffing at the older man's presence, Beca shot an "eaves drop much" his way.

"The door was open. Its hardly eavesdropping if anyone can walk in on your conversation", he refuted.

Judging by the intense staring match currently being held by the father daughter duo, Jesse knew this wasn't going to be the "welcome to Barden!" visit Dr. Mitchell had clearly intended it to be. No, Beca was stubborn, and Jesse knew she would take his comments as a sign of being challenged. Beca didn't respond well to opposition, especially not from her Warren. So, Jesse slowly moved away from the two, as if not to disturb a sleeping bear, and slunked further into the corner, to allow the two some semblance privacy. However, he knew Beca was probably relying on him for 'an out' at some point, so he still remained in the room, waiting patiently until she signalled him or until he had to step in to keep the two from going at each other's throats…whatever came first really.

"Whatever, is there something you want? Or are you just here to piss me off", Beca threw back with a clenched jaw and daggered eyes.

"Careful", he bit back, by way of a warning. "I came to make sure you were getting settled in alright. I know dorm rooms aren't The Ritz, but I wanted to make sure you were comfortable. Baker Hall is one of the few dorms with air conditioning, I thought it might make the whole roommate thing a tad more comfortable for you."

"My, how generous of you. Would you like your coffee served in a 'Father of the Year' mug or do you need it served in a trophy's cup?", she said sarcastically.

"Enough Beca", he countered in a serious tone, his eyes suggesting he was more than through with her games. "Stop deflecting. I heard what you said earlier, and that's not the deal we made. The deal was for you to _experience_ college Beca, not just tolerate it".

"That's NOT the deal and you know it. The deal was for me to spend one year in this hell hole and after surviving a year of it, you would pay for me to go to L.A. THAT was the deal. You never said anything about me having to enjoy it."

"I thought it was implied", Warren said, rolling his eyes slightly.

"Well it wasn't."

"Right well. Regardless, that is the deal that's on the table now. You don't have to like it, but you have to try. Join a club or something. I really need to see you try, Becs. This is college Beca, join in!", he says in mock excitement, trying to level with his stubborn daughter.

"It might not be as bad as your making it out to be. Join a club. Make some friends. It will be great, you'll see", Warren encouraged.

"Jesse's my friend. Why do I need more?"

"That's different. You know what I mean Beca. Make some new friends. Expand your horizons. That's what college is about after all!"

Beca just rolls her eyes incredulously.

Sensing the two weren't getting anywhere anytime soon, Jesse stepped in quickly.

"The Activity Fair is on for another hour or so I think. Beca, why don't we go check it out. Maybe we will find something cool for us to do or a good club to join?".

Knowing this was her one opportunity to get the hell out of her dorm room and out of this endless conversation with her dad, Beca begrudgingly agrees.

XXX

Beca and Jesse walk through the rows of tents and tables, scanning the teams, groups and clubs for something Beca could join to appease her father that she wouldn't totally hate.

"How about knitting club? That doesn't require any physical activity and you could make all your Christmas gift's for people without having to spend a dime", Jesse suggests. He knows it's a long shot, but so far Beca has turned down every single booth they've walked by and he's starting to get desperate.

"What am I, 18 going on 80? No", she stated adamantly.

"Jesse! Hey, Jesse! Jesse, over here!" an unfamiliar voice shouts.

Turning around, Beca and Jesse were met with the sight of a curly haired boy in overly tight, hiked up pants bounding towards the pair. The boy reminded Beca of a toddler, what with the way he was dressed and how he was currently running—or rather stumbling—over to the two friends.

"Beca, this is my roommate Benji. Benji, my gal pal, Beca", Jesse introduce the two.

"Don't ever call me your 'gal pal' again. It's weird and it makes you sound gay", Beca quickly says to Jesse, then turning her attention to Benji to awkwardly wave him hello.

"I'm Benjamin Applebaum, but everyone calls me Benji", the scruffy-haired boy replied with a big smile. Then, out of nowhere Benji twisted his hands, revealing a colourful bouquet of fake flowers. "For you m'lady", he said presenting the flowers to Beca.

"Urm. Thaannkks", she drawled out uncomfortably, as she grabs the bouquet from Benji's outstretched hand. Looking at the flowers for a second, Beca handed them back to the boy, "how about you hold onto them for me, I don't have anywhere to put them. And apparently you do…" she said with a quirked eyebrow, unsure if she should actually be within 20 feet of the kid.

"Okay. Thanks. I'll just save them for another beautiful lady." He replied happily, taking no offence to Beca's cautious looks. After folding the flowers back down and stuffinf them back into a pocket in his jacket, he turned back to Jesse, "hey, you said you did musical theatre in high school right?". Jesse nods proudly. "Okay, then you have to come sign up for the Treblemakers with me. They are the rock stars of acappella. The Messiah's of Barden. Well, not including athletes, frat guys, or actual cool people."

"Well you aren't any of those three things, now are you Jess?" Beca added with a smirk and a pat to Jesse's back.

"Yeah, sure. I'll come check it out with you", Jesse said. "You wanna come Beca?"

"That's alright you two go. I'm just gonna look around over here for a bit. I'll catch up with you later."

"You sure?" Jesse asks, just double checking.

"Yeah I'm good. You better go, looks like your puppy got loose," she says smirking and pointing over to where Benji has walked off and is now fully immersed in the Action Figures Fight Club tent…whatever the hell that is.

"Okay, I'll text you after so we can meet up. Text me if you join something!" He calls to her as he starts jogging over to wrangle Benji away from the club's table attendant.

Beca wanders around for a while, until her eyes finally land on a banner for a club she can get behind: "Barden DJ's", the sign read.

However, upon closer inspection Beca quickly realizes the club is not at all what she had thought it was, and it was in fact a club for deaf Jews. "How are there even enough at this school for there to be a club for that?", she mumbled to herself as she stalked away from the table.

Continuing on in her aimless path, a beautiful red head suddenly calls her over. The girl is radiant and she looks like she is about to bubble over with glee, smiling so wide Beca thinks her face must be numb. Beca's not sure she could get her smile so wide if she hooked her fingers in her mouth and pulled.

The red head is standing next to a poised blonde, who looks less than thrilled the girl had chosen to beckon Beca over. These aren't the types of girl's Beca would usually interact with, save for maybe drunk out of her mind at a party. But nonetheless, she gives in to the other girl's calls and walks over.

The red head is quick to shove a flyer for whatever club she is apart of into Beca's hands.

"Hi, any interest in joining our acappella group?", the girl asks cheerily, rocking back and forth on her wedges either in anticipation or because of a full bladder, Beca doesn't know.

"Oh right, this is a thing now."

"Oh totes. We sing covers of songs but we do it without any instruments." "Its all from our mouths", the girl says, emphasising each word and capping the sentence of with a quick wink.

Beca suddenly become flustered and can literally feel her blood rushing to her cheeks. "Is she insinuating what I think she is?", Beca thinks to herself.

The girl goes on to briefly explain the acappella hierarchy at Barden, along with some of the highlights of performing as part of the Bella's—she learns their group is called—while the blonde fixes a permanent glare on Beca.

Turning away from the red head briefly Beca scowls at the blonde, "take a picture it'll last longer."

"Excuse you? Maybe if you didn't dress so alternatively people would stare at you like an animal in the zoo" the blonde bites back instantly.

"Aubrey, breathe. We need new recruits, remember?", the redhead says calmly to the tall blonde.

"So are you interested?", the redhead finally turns and asks Beca with wide eyes.

"I don't know, seems pretty lame."

"Aca-scuse me? Synchronized lady dancing to a Mariah Carey chart topper is not lame."

"Damn right its not. It's actually super sexy", a leggy—and chesty—brunette says seductively as she saunters around the booth to lay an arm over the blonde.

"Hi, Stace", the redhead greets the other girl.

"You thinking of joining the Bella's?", the brunette directs her question at Beca. "It's actually not nearly as lame as it sounds. You get to sing with a bunch of smoking hot girls, skip class to travel for competitions, plus it's great exercise for your lips and tongue", the girl says, wiggling her eye brows suggestively.

"Stacie, keep the hunter under control", the blonde—Aubrey? Was it—says in a serious tone to the brunette.

"Sorry babe, it's the truth", Stacie replied innocently. "And don't act like you don't love the dexterity all those vocal drills have given my tongue".

Aubrey immediately turns bright red from embarrassment and shoots the brunette a desperate look, as if to say "please, shut up".

"Wait, are you two…together?" Beca asks slowly.

"Yes. Do you have a problem with that?" Aubrey snaps.

"Dude, chill. I'm not a homophobe. I'm even partial to a little lady loving here and there myself. I was just surprised to see _you_ were with another girl. You don't strike me as as non-traditionalist, what with your outfit and all. Seriously, are you in college or are you a 1950's house wife?", Beca replied challengingly.

"It took her a bit to come to terms with _all this_ ", Stacie said as she moved her hands showingly down her body, "but, you can't choose your soul mate, now can you?" Stacie supplied.

"Oh, you're soul mates, then? Interesting."

"Yep, together forever baby", Stacie joked as she held up her left wrist to show off her tattoo and then promptly placed a loud kiss to Aubrey's cheek.

"So! What do you say? Will you help us turn our dream into a reality?" The redhead eagerly piped up.

"Sorry, I don't even sing", Beca replies. "But, good luck with…all this", she finishes, moving her hand in a wiping pattern in front of her. Beca then turns and begins walking away from the strange group of girls.

"She's hot. And feisty. I like her", Stacie stage whispers to Aubrey and Chloe.

"Stacie!" Aubrey whisper yells.

"Yeah she is", the red head says to herself quietly, as she watched Beca walk away.

Turning to look over her shoulder back at the booth, Beca was met with the cerulean blue eyes of the redhead on hers, accompanied by the girl's mega watt smile. Quickly turning her head forward again, Beca picked up her pace and set off looking for Jesse.


	4. Chapter 4

_Hiya all! So, this chapter took a little longer to write...I am now working on building the story and working on how to move from the intro to where I ultimately want it to end. So from now on, chapter may take a tad longer to write, just simply because I now have to think of stuff._

 _P.S. This chapter is the build up to Bechloe. From here on out, it WILL be a thing. So get excited!_

 _Again, any prompts or suggestions are welcome!_

 _Please enjoy, and dont forget follow/fav and comment!_

 **Chapter 4**

Later that day, Beca and Jesse were lounging in Beca's dorm room, while Jesse persistently tried to coax Beca into watching a movie with him—for the better part of the last hour, I might add.

"But Becs! 'Breakfast at Tiffany's' is a classic. How could you possibly have never seen it! How?!" he had practically screeched.

Thankfully Kimmy Jin was out. Beca's pretty sure she had mumbled something about a party before the mysterious Asian had abandoned the dorm. And thank God she was out now, or she's pretty sure Jesse's high pitched squawking would have earned her a glare hard enough to burn right through her skull.

"Isn't it a chick movie? I think the better question is why have _you_ seen it", she replied, pointing a length of licorice in his direction and then forcefully chomping off the end of it.

"Fine, fine. I give up", Jesse chuckled, throwing his hands up in defeat. "So did you find anything worth signing up for at the Activity Fair? Anything worthy of the ol' Beca Mitchell name?"

Rolling her eyes at her friend's antics, Beca scrunched her nose thinking back to the countless booths she had visited earlier that day. "Nah, no clubs really caught my eye". "I told you about the DJ's right?" she added with complimentary eye roll.

"But I did manage to score a gig at the radio station. It's an internship or something, but at least it'll be music related. Maybe my dad will ride with that."

"No way", Jesse's eyes grew double in size, as his face was instantly consumed by a mega-watt smile. "I signed up at the station too! How awesome is this?!"

"Damn, just when I thought I was rid of you", she teased with a lopsided grin, chomping on another piece of licorice. "So how did the Truh-blah-muckers thing go?"

"Its Treblemaker's, Beca. And it went pretty well I think. I mean Benji may have scared them off a little with his magic stuff, but I think he'll make up for it with his voice at auditions."

"And his _passion,_ don't forget his passion", she mocked, dramatically holding her hands over her heart and pretending to swoon. "Isn't that what all of your stupid romcom's say?"

"Shut up", Jesse shoved his friend playfully. Glancing a look at the time on his phone, Jesse heaved himself off of Beca's bed. "Alright well, I'd better head back to my room, its getting pretty late".

"Okay, see ya later. Don't forget your rape whistle", she teased. "Remember: don't blow it unless your actually being blown" She teased. "Unless your into that kind of thing", she added, with a playful eyebrow wiggle.

"Right, I'm sure _Jennifer_ , is actually a guy", He said opening the door to leave.

"Hey, you never know."

"Later loser", Jesse calls as he makes his way down the hall.

It was getting pretty late. Looking at the clock on her bedside table, Beca could see it was a little past 12:00 am. She didn't technically have class tomorrow—as they didn't officially start until the next day—but she did have to show up to a few classes to pick up her syllabuses and buy her textbooks—which she would probably never even open.

Stopping to look around the room for a second, Beca realized that this was the first time she had been alone for more than a second in the room. It wasn't a bad room by college standards. It was clean, had a fairly sizable window, and as her dad had mentioned, it did have A.C. Kimmy Jin would probably be back soon from her party, so Beca took a few minutes to just relax alone in her room, and take in all that had happened during the day. Sure, she didn't actually want to actually be at Barden, but like any other freshman, regardless of her feeling for the school, her first day was a lot to take in.

Knowing she probably wouldn't fall asleep for a little while anyway, Beca decided to go take a quick shower. Baker Hall's freshman wing only offered co-ed bathrooms, and in the 15 hours Beca had been at Barden, she learnt very quickly how awful those were during prime times. So, she figured she would get her shower out of the way now while no one was around to bother her, and hopefully by the time she was done she would actually be tired enough to sleep.

Beca quickly changed out of her clothes, rushing just in case Kimmy Jin returned home with her posse of Asians. "Seriously, how does THAT girl have friends…and so many of them! It was only the first day, afterall?!" Beca thought to herself, for the _thousandth_ time that day. Shrugging on her bathrobe and slipping into her flip flops, Beca grabbed her towel and shower caddy full of supplies, ready to make her way to bathroom

Walking down the deserted hallways of Baker Hall, Beca began humming to herself. It starts out as nothing in particular, just a steady beat that Beca finds her mind currently occupied with, until it naturally works itself into David Guetta's 'Titanium'.

Pushing the door to the bathroom open, Beca was pleased to see that the room appeared empty.

 _"_ _You shout it out,_

 _But I can't hear a word you say…"_ she sings softly to herself.

Stepping into one of the middle stalls, Beca deposits her towel and robe on the side hook and reluctantly steps into the grungy shower. She hangs her shower caddy on another hook and turns the water on, still singing to herself as she waits for the water to warm up.

 _"_ _I'm bulletproof, nothing to lose_

 _Fire away, fire away,_

 _Ricochet, you take your aim,_

 _Fire away, fire away…"_

"You _can_ sing!" a familiar voice says exuberantly from behind Beca.

"Dude!" Beca responds in shock, whipping around only to be met with the sight of a naked woman.

Beca's quick to reach for the shower curtain and yank it safely back into place, only for the redhead to dismiss Beca's actions and immediately swing the curtain open again.

Beca averts her eyes quickly at the sight of the naked girl, as she tries desperately to cover her own bits with anything in sight. In the brief moment before averting her eyes, Beca was able to make out the distinct black marking of a tattoo just below the other girl's left breast. Since finding out she didn't have a soul mate, Beca had made it a sort of habit to scan other people's bodies for that tell tale marking, in hopes of finding someone else like her. She hadn't looked long enough at the girl to make out what the word read—nor would she have been able to, as the word was partially concealed by the swell of the redhead's breast—but she had seen enough to know that the word was there. "Great, another one bites the dust", Beca though to herself. She did it to herself, and she knew that, constantly seeking out other people's soul mate markings and all, but still, every time she saw some else's tattoo it killed her a little bit inside.

"How high does your belt go", the other girl asks with eager eyes, reaching around Beca to turn the showerhead off.

"My what?!" Beca replies with a shaky voice, awkwardly covering herself in the corner of the stall.

"Where's that rape whistle when you need it?" Beca thought to herself.

"I'm Chloe. We met earlier at the Activity Fair", the redhead said innocently, as if they weren't currently in _this_ situation. "You have to audition for the Bella's" she added emphatically.

"I can't concentrate on anything until you cover your junk."

"Ooh, you have a bug tattoo? I have a bug tattoo!" Chloe said energetically, having noticed the grasshopper tattoo on Beca's mid-arm. "Look, see", she said show off the small ladybug tattoo on her right hand.

Since that dreaded morning two years ago, Beca had added several markings to her skin. At first she had done it to lessen the the nakedness she felt without her own soul mate marking, but as time went on—and her sexual escapades grew—she realized that the additional ink could act as a sort of diversionary tactic; the more ink she had on her skin, the less obvious it was that she was lacking that one critical tattoo. And so far, her method had worked perfectly. She found that even stark naked, with her many other tattoos, no one ever seemed to notice that she didn't have a soul mate tattoo, instead assuming it must be hidden amongst the other ink somewhere.

"Seriously, I am nude!", Beca huffed, looking anywhere but at Chloe.

Beca thinks this must be what it's like to be a spider trapped inside of a toilet bowl. All she wants to do is _get the hell out_ of this stall—of this bathroom, of this situation, of this school—and into some clothes. But, with Chloe continuing to narrow in on her, she was stuck, helplessly corralled into the corner.

"You were signing 'Titanium', right?", Chloe asked, again moving closer to Beca.

Shocked by the redhead's musical knowledge, Beca's head snapped up to look directly into Chloe's piercingly blue eyes. "You know David Guetta?"

"What, have I been living under a rock? Yeah. That song is my jam. My _lady_ jam", Chloe said coyly.

"That's nice."

"Yeah it is! That song really builds", Chloe replied, punctuating her words with a seductive wink. "Sing it for me?" She then added with a hopeful expression.

"Dude, no! Get out." Beca said with a combination of shock and terror on her face, again trying to move as far away from the other girl as possible. _Damn wall_.

"Not, for _that_ reason. Look, I'm not leaving here until you sing. So…"

Beca suddenly felt herself blush. Adjusting the loofa and shampoo bottle in her hands to better cover herself, Beca looked up at Chloe with trepidation.

Chloe feigns a yawn, as if to say, "I've got all day".

Swallowing hard, Beca reluctantly begins to sing. Honestly, at this point she would do just about anything to get the crazy redhead out of her shower ASAP. Don't get her wrong, Beca's not usually opposed to a face full of naked girl, but under these circumstances…not so much. This was not sexy; this was just uncomfortable.

" _I'm bulletproof, nothing to lose,_

 _Fire away, fire away…",_ Beca began, hesitation evident in her voice.

 _"_ _Ricochet, you take your aim,_

 _Fire away fire away_ ", Chloe joins in, their voice melding together in perfect harmony.

Chloe smiles softly at Beca as they continue to sing, their gazes locked in on one another.

 _"_ _I am titanium."_

There's a beat of silence once the two have finished singing. Chloe just stares at Beca with a satisfied smirk, while Beca's confidence slowly starts to return, actually impress with how well their two voices had sounded together.

Suddenly uncomfortable under Chloe's gaze—and nudity—Beca averts her eyes away from the redhead's gaze.

Catching on, Chloe casually replies, "Yeah, I'm pretty confident about…" "all this", she says, motioning to her fully exposed body.

"You should be", Beca mutters, accepting the towel Chloe politely hands to her and promptly wrapping herself with it.

"I'm just gonna shower…" Beca says quietly, hoping Chloe gets this hint.

"You have a lovely voice", a tall—NAKED—boy suddenly says, coming up from behind Chloe. Beca can clearly make out the boy's own tattoo. The name 'Sandra' was scrawled horizontally across his right bicep, curving slightly to follow the arc of the boy's arm. "Sandra is definitely not Chloe. Not even close", Beca thinks.

"THANKS", Beca bites out, praying for this weirdness to end already.

The boy motions his head for Chloe to come back to wherever they had been prior to this _lovely_ conversation. "Oh", Chloe says innocently, catching onto his suggestion. "Oh so _now_ she can take a hint", Beca thinks.

"See you at auditions…?" Chloe says, staring into Beca's eyes with pure optimism.

"Beca", Beca supplies.

"Beca." Chloe says with a soft smile, as if getting the feel for the other's girl's name on her tongue.

"Bye, _Beca",_ Chloe finishes, softly emphasizing Beca's name.

Waving a final farewell, Chloe allows the boy to pull her away from Beca's stall, leaving a shell shocked Beca standing alone in the corner

"What the fucking fuck?" Beca mutters under her breath, turning to her shower, silently hoping the hot water could wash away the awkwardness she just endured.

XXX

 _3 Days Later…_

Beca stood outside of the Barden Performing Arts Building, contemplating whether or not she should go in. She had made up her mind earlier that day that yes, in fact, she would audition for the Bella's. Chloe's insistence combined with her father's staggering lack of support over her radio internship really left her with no other option that to audition. After all, if she had any hope in hell of moving to L.A. next year, she would have to join at least one club to satisfy her father's conditions—so why not this?

However, as she walked up the steps to the building, she suddenly found herself ridden with doubt. While singing was totally in Beca's wheelhouse, _this—_ Acappella—was most definitely not. And these girls. As so clearly demonstrated at the Activity Fair, these girls were most definitely not the type of girls Beca would typically—or ever—be associated with. And too add to all of this…Aubrey clearly hated her already. How could she expect any of the other girls to accept her into their group when she was so clearly going to be their exact opposite?

But then again, Chloe had seemed to like her enough—maybe too much even—and that other girl—Stacie, was it?—seemed to share Beca's crude sense of humor and love for embarrassing others. So maybe it wouldn't be so bad. It was just music after all, and music was Beca's lifeblood.

"What the hell", she said to herself. Squaring her shoulders and letting out a determined breath, Beca finally pushed the door opened and made her way inside.

Beca hung back while the other singers auditioned, still somewhat unsure of what exactly she was doing here. Her skepticism only grew as she saw how horrible the auditions were. With the exception of a few decent singers, including Benji and Jesse, the auditions were for the most part, a hot mess. One girl even burst into tears during her audition.

And then Beca saw Stacie saunter out onto centre stage…

Stacie's audition was amusing to say the least. She spent the majority of her audition running her hand seductively down her body, only to stop when she grabbed onto her boobs for dear life. At first Beca thought she was serious, she had listed her hobbies as "the E! Network and cuticle care" after all. But when she saw Stacie throw Aubrey a teasing wink after one particularly raunchy move, she knew it was all an act—probably an attempt on Stacie's behalf to get a rise out of her perfectly proper girlfriend.

Beca couldn't help but laugh at the reactions Stacie's audition earned from the other audience members—clearly having not caught onto the joke of the whole thing. Beca's pretty sure she even saw one guy have to _cover himself_ with a clipboard during her performance.

And then the lineup was done, and the boy Justin was calling out for any final performers. Beca's mouth suddenly went dry and her feet seemed to be stuck in place. "Sack up, dude", she chastised internally, and finally willed herself to take a single step forward, just peaking out from behind the stage curtain. Though, she still couldn't force herself speak up.

Beca didn't think anyone could actually see her, and she was again contemplating whether or not she should just bolt for the door. But apparently her movement—as minimal as may have been—caught the attention of a certain redhead.

"Oh wait, there's one more!" Chloe jumped in, waving for Beca to emerge like Quasimodo and take centre stage.

Nervously stepping out onto the stage, Beca waves her hand in an awkward gesture, never breaking eye contact with the clearly satisfied redhead.

"Uhm…I didn't know we had to prepare that song…" Beca states uncomfortably, and while it _is_ the truth—given that she had thrown out the Bella's flyer the second she was out of eyesight from the girls' booth—she did know the song—not to mention having just listened to it on repeat for the last 20 minutes or so—she still wasn't prepared to sing it right this second. If she was going to do this, she wanted to do something she knew she would kill, not just something she threw together on the spot.

So she did what she knew.

Cringing as she dumped the cup full of pens onto the desk in front of Chloe and Aubrey—catching the blonde's accompanying scowl—Beca sat herself down on front stage and began singing, using the plastic cup as a percussive instrument of sorts.

Beca had spent the better part of her sophomore summer learning how to 'play cups' among other things. As part of her 16th birthday present, her mom had taken her to an Atlanta production of 'Stomp'. Utterly inspired by the show, Beca began experimenting with various sounds and mock-instruments, oftentimes overlaying these raw sounds into her mixes and mashups. Beca experimented with cups, trash cans, whistles, even simple sounds like clapping and breathing. And it worked; the resulting thuds, squeaks, and thumps were a unique addition to the otherwise electronic tracks Beca typically produced. Then one day, in the midst of her 'Stomp' obsession, Beca stumbled upon a YouTube video of two girls singing along with a cup. Of course Beca was instantly hooked, and so she spent five hours straight teaching herself the specific cup movements and learning the song—though, the song really only took 20 to learn. And just like that, Beca had mastered 'playing the cup'—not to mention having gained one kick ass party trick to show off. It turned out to be a real babe magnet.

So Beca figured for her Bella's audition, why not whip out her handy dandy hidden talent? It had always worked on all the drunk girls in high school. Aubrey was gay after all, maybe this would finally wipe that scowl off of her face for good.

And so she sang.

" _I got my ticket for the long way round,_

 _Two bottles of whiskey for the way…"_

Chloe was instantly mesmerized, both by Beca's angelic voice and her apparent cup-handling skills…who knew?

"She's pretty good with hands, huh?", Stacie leaned in from behind Chloe and Aubrey, to whisper in their ears.

"Stacie!" Aubrey snapped back in a hushed voice.

"Just saying", Stacie defends, holding up her hands in surrender. "She'll be great with those flight attendant fingers you love so much, Bree." "Among other things…" she added, leaning into Chloe with a cheeky grin.

Chloe didn't acknowledge the girl though, her eyes permanently fixed on Beca, taking in every last sound, move, and expression the younger girl made. She just seemed so relaxed; so consumed by the music. Chloe knew from the shower incident that Beca had a great voice, but this just further proved Chloe's hunch: Beca couldn't _just_ sing, she knew music, felt music. This girl HAD to be a Bella, and Chloe was going to make sure of that.

 _"_ _You're gonna miss me when I'm gone",_ Beca finished, turning the cup upside in one final motion and shrugging at the two girls into front of her—completely unaware of any of the other people in the audience.

"I thought it was _two_ girls, one cup!", Bumper—the arrogant leader of the Treblemakers—yelled from his seat, failing to keep his laughter at bay. "Aubrey, why don't you join her up there, since you already suck and _clearly_ know how to blow." "Not to mention the shit-show that is the Bella's".

"Excuse me Bumper, is your family tree a fucking cactus? Because you are one serious fucking prick", Stacie yells back, jumping to her girl friend's defence.

"Hey Conrad, did you know they used to be called "Jumpolines" until your mom jumped on one?" Bumper countered, singing the chorus of 'Stacie's mom' to 'himself'.

"Psh. She still wouldn't hop on your dick."

"Right…thanks. I'm just gonna…go" Beca says—mostly to herself—and walks off stage.

"Becaw, hey!" Jesse calls once Beca is backstage.

"Hey dude", she replies casually.

"I didn't think you would actually show." Of course Beca had told Jesse all about _the_ _shower incident_ —as it will now and forever be known—once she was back in the safety of her own room. She had ranted to him over text for a good hour about how 'pervy' the whole thing was and then how, as if the naked ambush wasn't enough, the strange redhead had demanded that she sing for her and then again demand she audition for the Bella's. Jesse was on the floor with laughter over Beca's detailing of the incident, but he had to agree with the 'pervy redhead' on this one. Beca needed to join a club to satisfy her dad's conditions, and hey, Beca loved music, she liked to sing, so why not join the Bella's. Plus, Jesse would—fingers crossed—be a Treble, so they could be 'Acappella Pals' together.

"Yeah well, I've seen first hand that girl's lack of boundaries", she said motioning back to Chloe, "I really don't want to see where all that crazy takes her when she's mad. So…here I am."

"You'll love it! Just wait, Becs."

"Fine. But I this turns to shit, I'm blaming you, Swanson", she joked, poking him in the chest with her index finger.

XXX

Later that evening, Beca was shrugged over her desk, eating microwave macaroni and working on a mix. Kimmy Jin had again run off to hang out with her squad of Asians, leaving Beca alone in their shared room. Usually Beca preferred listening to her mixes, or just music in general, through her headphones. Whenever Jesse would ask why, joking that her headphones had become an extension of Beca herself, she would simply shrug and say the bass sounded better with them than through speakers. However, Beca had been stuck for the past two hours on this one mix. She's been working on the mix for about a week now, and its almost done…but there's just something that's not right. Or maybe missing. Beca hasn't figured it out quite yet. But she will. So she unplugged her headphones from her computer and let the music fill her room, hoping that maybe this way she would be able to place her finger on exactly what's keeping this mix from perfection.

She was mid-mouthful when someone banged loudly and her door…

"Campus police", someone said in an overly dramatized male voice.

Dropping her mac and cheese back onto desk, Beca paused her mix and went over to answer the door.

Before she could even make out who the visitor was, a black hood was suddenly thrown over her head and secured around her neck.

Struggling against her captor's hold, Beca was about a millisecond away from going full on Rambo on the person, when her captor let out an amused giggle.

"Beca, relax. It's me, Chloe", she said softly, doing her best to stifle her laughter. "I'm technically not suppose to tell you who I am or what's happening, but you seem feisty; like you might have a shank on you or something. And I value my life, thank you very much."

"Did you seriously just say 'shank'?" Beca asked sarcastically, still struggling to get the hood off.

"I can be street. Now stop struggling."

"Dude, first you assault me in the shower. Now your kidnapping me. What's next? Are you going to harvest my organs and sell them on the black market for drug money?"

"Oh, hush."

"Seriously, where are you taking me?" Beca asked, suddenly concerned that a stranger had just bagged and abducted her from her music and mac and cheese.

"Initiation. Now shhh, and let me lead."

*Thud*

"Oww! Dude, you just lead me into a wall!" Beca huffed.

"Oops", Chloe giggled.

XXX

"Welcome ladies. You nine have been specially chosen to join the Bella's sisterhood. The Bella's is a well respected and time honored institution of Barden University, dating back to 1979. With the Bella's name comes certain responsibilities and expectations. Once a Bella, you are expected to carry yourself with grace and perform to perfection. I do not take this group lightly, and neither should any of you. Please understand that once your hoods are removed, you will be asked to pledge yourself to the Bella's sisterhood. If any one you are unprepared to meet the standards of a proper Bella woman, I suggest you raise your hands now, and you will be escorted out." After allowing for a pregnant pause, the melodic voice continued. "Alright then. Without further adieu, ladies…our Soprano's: Jessica, Mary Elise, Lilly. The Mezzo's: Cynthia Rose, Denise, Kori. And our Alto's: Fat Amy, Ashley, and…Beca."

Then suddenly Beca's hood was pulled off of her head, leaving her disoriented as her eyes adjusted to the room.

"Welcome to the Bella's!" Chloe cheered next to Aubrey.

"More like welcome to the Barden Babes", a voice whispered from behind Beca. The unexpected voice had started Beca to say the least, making her jump, and possibly stopping her heart for a brief moment. Whipping her head around, Beca was met by Stacie, sporting an amused grin and clutching a handful of black hoods in her hands.

"Dude! Does no one in this group understand personal space", Beca said dryly, holding an unsteady hand over her heart as she tried to calm the rapidly beating organ.

"Trust me, you'll learn to love it", Stacie winked at Beca.

"Yo twiggies, when do we get to celebrate?!" Amy interjected. "I'm like a diabetic, but instead of needed sugar every few hours, I needs me my booze, bitches!"

"Amy, calm down. Pledge first, party second" Aubrey said with a militaristic bite. Leaning into Chloe and craning her head around, so the other girls could neither hear her nor read her lips, Aubrey whispered, "Are you sure this was a good idea?".

"Relax. Just give it a chance Bree" Chloe said, rubbing Aubrey's arm soothingly.

"No, Amy! Not the wine! That's the blood of our sisters!" Aubrey shrieked.

XXX

Walking along with her fellow Bella's—because that's a thing now, duh—Beca and the other girls followed as Aubrey and Chloe lead the group to what appeared to be some sort of outdoor amphitheatre.

Stopping once the group reached the upper rim of the theatre, Aubrey turned to the girls with a smile—the first smile Beca thinks she's ever seen from the blonde. "Alright Bella's, welcome to your first official Hood Night party. Have fun, mingle, and represent the Bella's well." With a final nod of her head, Aubrey motioned the girl's in, standing to the side as the group began to disperse into the small crowd below.

Stacie hung back with Aubrey, wrapping a supportive arm around her girlfriend's waist. "Come on babe, lets go get a drink". Tightening her grip on Aubrey's waist in a reassuring hug, the blonde turned to give her girlfriend a hesitant look before letting out a calming breathe and leaning in to kiss the brunette softly. Aubrey always did a fine job of hiding her insecurities and doubts to the rest of the world behind a mask of confidence and poise. Stacie however, could read Aubrey like a book; she always seemed to know what the blonde was thinking, and more often than not, knew just what the blonde needed to help ease her doubts. And right now, she knew her girlfriend was seriously doubting her ability to whip this group of misfits into a presentable group of girls, worthy of the Bella name. Stepping out of the kiss, Aubrey gave a determined nod of her head. "Okay. Let's do this. I'm going to need liquor in me if I have any hope of dealing with these girls tonight."

Beca stood in the top row of seats, off to the side, watching as the two girlfriends made their way down the theatre stairs. Beca watched in amusement as Stacie delivered a swift slap on the ass to the blonde, earning a surprise yelp in response and then what Beca can only assume was an accompanying string of hushed chastisements.

Beca stood for a moment, simply taking in her surroundings. She could not believe that _this_ was her life now. Of course she was no stranger to late night parties and booze, but Beca couldn't believe she was now partying with _these_ people, people who sang show tunes and Mariah Carey all day, for fun. It was like she had been abducted from her life and then sold to the circus. God, there was even a kid riding a unicycle around the main stage. But she had to suck it up. This was what she signed up for. _This_ was going to get her to L.A. So she slowly made her way down from her high perch and over to join the group of celebrating singers, or to at least watch from a closer distance.

Spotting her instantly, Jesse scrambled over a few rows of benches to meet up with his tiny best friend.

"Becaww, B-bb-becawww" Jesse slurred, bracing his body weight on the back of a row of seats. "Do my eyes deceive me, or are you a Barden Bella?" Beca figures he must have indulged in a little pre-party fun, either that or he chugged an entire keg in the ten minutes the party had been happening, because he was clearly struggling to even keep his eyes open.

Beca raised her eyebrows as she evaluated the state of the boy in front of her. "You're really drunk right now. You not gonna remember any of this tomorrow."

"I-I'm not drunk. You're just a little blurry."

Beca chuckles under her breath. "Really? Could you pass a sobriety test right now?" She asks, playfully shoving him backwards.

Jesse stumbles at first, but quickly catches himself on the backrest of the bench behind him, playing off his stumble by springing back forward into Beca's hand. "See, I come right back!"

"Sure, okay…"

"I'm going to get you a drink. You-you need a drink. You need to get on this level."

"I don't think that's possible, but knock yourself out—not literally. Jesse don't actually knock yourself out!" She calls out to her stumbling friend, already on his way to retrieve her drink, only to be distracted by the boy on the unicycle.

"Yeah, he's not coming back."

"Who's not coming back?"

Beca turns her attention away from Jesse's drunk antics to see Stacie standing next to her with two drinks in hand. Stacie shoves the one drink into Beca's hand. "It's beer. I figured it was probably a safe bet. You look like a beer girl."

"Thanks…" Beca shifts uncomfortably in place, unsure as to why Stacie had left the heart of the party to come take to her. Scrambling to think of something else to say Beca suddenly asks, "So you an Aubrey, huh?"

"Yeah." Stacie smiles softy and looks over to where her girlfriend is dancing down below. "We've been together about a year and a half now."

"I thought you were a sophomore?"

"Oh, I am." Stacie shifts her attention away from the blonde at back to the tiny brunette next to her. "I grew up only 15 minutes from Barden. When I was a senior in high school, my friends and I used to drive over here and sneak into whatever college party we could find that night. I met Aubrey at one of those parties. I went up to the DJ—if you could even call him that. It was more like some random kid with a laptop—to request a song, and Aubrey was there arguing with him about his song selections. We started talking a little bit after that and things just fell into place. I actually took her on our first date that very night." Stacie smiled fondly at the memory.

"And you guys ended up being soul mates?"

"Yeah", she nodded. "Listen. I know she can be a little difficult at times—"

"You're telling me", Beca scoffed, interrupting Stacie.

"As I was saying… I know she can be difficult, but it comes from a good place. She just wants things to be perfect. I know that not always realistic, but for her, it has to be. Her parents never really took her out of the shrink wrap. I promise she's actually a really good person, she just needs to learn to trust a little. Don't let her neurotic tendencies ruin the Bella's for you, it really is a great group."

"Yeah, okay…" Beca says, rolling her eyes. Aubrey is the biggest thorn in her side she's ever encountered—and Beca doesn't get along well with almost anyone…so that's saying something. She finds it incredibly hard to believe that that aca-Nazi down there actually has a heart, let alone uses it. But whatever, at least she's not her girlfriend—that's Stacie's problem.

"Hey girls!" Chloe chirps happily, walking up the concrete steps to the two brunette's.

"Hey Chlo", Stacie raises her drink to the redhead. "Right then…" she says turning back to Beca, "I'm going to get back to the party. Have fun!"

Stacie shuffles out of the row, swaying her hips as she goes and allowing Chloe to scoot around her to stand in front of Beca. The redhead grabs Beca by the wrists, ignoring the drink in her hand, and pulls her in close so that they are standing nose to nose.

"Hi!"

"Hi…"

"I'm sooo glad that I met you. I think that we're going to be really fast friends."

"Yeah well, you saw me naked so…" Beca sang, punctuating her sentiment with a quick wink.

"Yeah I did", Chloe giggled with a wiggle of her eyebrows.

Beca would've sworn that the older girl was wasted out of her mind given the way she was acting, but they had _just_ arrived and Chloe hadn't seemed drunk earlier. Plus, Beca didn't smell alcohol on Chloe's breathe—and trust her, given how close the two were standing, she would definitely smell it. "Wow, this girl has serious boundary issues", Beca thought to herself.

Chloe finally let go of Beca's wrists, stepping out of the brunette's personal bubble and leaning her butt against the bench behind her. Chloe didn't say anything more, she just stood there with a dopey smile on her face.

Growing uncomfortable with the silence and staring, Beca found herself spewing out the first question that came to mind. "So where's Frat Boy McGee?" Cringing at her own words, Beca gave herself a mental palm to the face. Alas, her stupid, stupid mind.

"Who?" Chloe didn't seem offended at all by Beca's snide comment.

"You know, your boyfriend…", Beca gestured with her hand, "the one you were in the shower with…naked. Actually, scratch that. The one _we_ were in the shower with naked" Beca finished, with eyebrows raised in a "duh!" expression.

"Oh, Tom!" Chloe chirped with a smile. "He's not my boyfriend", she dismissed with a casual throw of her hand. "Well, I mean he used to be. We dated back when I was a sophomore. But be aren't together now", the redhead replied, totally unaffected with sharing such intimate details of her life to a practical stranger.

"So you were just in the shower with him…naked…for what, a tea party?"

"No, silly!" she laughed innocently. "When neither of us is with someone, we occasionally help each other out. You know, make sure the motor is still running, service the parts, and all that jazz."

"Gross. Okay, I get it," Beca reached out to stop the disturbing hand gestures Chloe was making. "It's called being friends with benefits. No need for the innuendoes."

Chloe chuckled at Beca's reaction, deciding to change the topic. "So is that Jesse kid your boyfriend? Cuz Aubrey certainly thinks so. And P.S. if he is, you're probably going to have a hard time with that given Aubrey's strict 'no Treble's' rule…unless of course, you want your vocal cords to be ripped out by wolves."

"Dude, NO! Oh my God, no. Jesse's my best friend. He's like my brother", she said dramatically gabbing. "That would be sooo wrong. Oh my God, no."

"So, no then?" Chloe teased.

The party went on this way for another two hours. Beca and Chloe sat away from the party down below, joking around and enjoying each others company—which for Beca, was unheard of. Beca didn't enjoy anyone's company, sometimes she couldn't even stand herself for too long.

Beca was participating in the conversation, but she mostly just enjoyed watching the redhead speak so animatedly about anything and everything. Beca didn't know why, but for the first time EVER, she felt herself drawn to another person besides herself, genuinely interested in their life, and actually wanting to impress them. Unlike with Jesse, Beca didn't feel the NEED to TRY and not be a bitch back, she truly wanted to be nice to Chloe, and found herself naturally engaged with the other girl.

So Beca sat with Chloe for two solid hours, completely wrapped up in the older girl's charm and optimism—which with anyone else, she would have thought contrived and have found incredibly irritating. But not with Chloe.

They were currently engaged in a discussion about concerts: how many each girl has been to, who've they've each seen, who was the best live, and who they would each like to see in the future. Chloe was in the midst of telling Beca all about The Return of the Spice Girls Tour circa 2008, when she suddenly stopped midsentence to look Beca dead in the eyes.

"Do you wanna get out of here?" Chloe shifted uncomfortably in her seat, nervously playing the rim of her solo cup. The otherwise exuberant and confident redhead, now seeming so timid and unsure of herself.

"Uhm. Yeah, okay." Beca of course knew what that phrase usually meant, and if in fact that was what Chloe was currently getting at…well, she would be more than happy to get _into_ that.

"Okay!" The redhead perked up, returning back to her usual self. "Why don't we go back to my place then? Is that alright?"

"Yeah, totally. I kind of got stuck with the roommate from hell, so it's probably best we avoid my room at all cost."

Chloe gave an amused smile and then proceeded too latch herself onto Beca's left arm, tugging the smaller girl along and away from the party.

"Wait." Beca says, bringing the two girls to an abrupt halt.

"What?" Chloe asks worriedly.

"Isn't Baker Hall that way", Beca says pointing in the opposite direction they two were currently headed.

"Yeah, so?"

"I thought we were going to hang out at your place?"

Catching onto Beca's line of thought, Chloe quickly jumped in. "We are. I don't live in Baker hall, Tom does. Aubrey and I rent a student apartment over by the rec centre."

"Great, so I can look forward to many more awkward run ins with the boy who saw me sing naked…joy", Beca replied sarcastically. Chloe smirked at the memory, grabbing Beca's arm again and continuing to lead the younger girl in the direction of her apartment.

"Don't worry, Tom's room is on the complete other side of Baker from yours. He's in the senior all boys wing. You probably won't even see him again."

"If he's in a completely separate wing, why were you two in the freshman bathroom?"

"There's rules about hooking up in the bathrooms. You can only do it in the coed ones…Something about rape policy and what not. So we used the freshman one. Pretty lucky too, or I wouldn't have heard your voice", Chloe stated simply. "You're really good by the way. It actually pisses Aubrey off how good you are" Chloe said, giving Beca a side glance and a guilty smirk.

"Yeah, well…just another thing to add to the list then I guess."

The two continued on on their walk, not saying much after that. Beca simply allowed Chloe to lead her along, while the redhead hummed happily to herself. At some point on their journey, Chloe had slipped her hand from Beca's arm to lace her fingers together with Beca's. Usually Beca wasn't one for outward displays of affection—actually choosing to avoid affection all together—but with Chloe it was different. Honestly, whereas Beca would usually jump away from even the slightest of touches from another person, she hadn't even noticed when Chloe made the move to grab onto her hand. It was all very strange and unsettling…yet, entirely natural at the same time.

"Welp, here we are."

Beca only had a second to look up at the old brick building before Chloe was eagerly pulling on her arm and racing the two of them inside and up the stairs to her apartment.


	5. Chapter 5

_Hello again!_

 _Thanks again to everyone who has followed, favourite and commented on this story, you're support is very much appreciated. Thanks to clappy49 for some of their suggestions with this and last chapter._

 _As always, suggestions and prompts are welcome!_

 _Here's chapter 5 for ya!_

 **Chapter 5**

Chloe had Beca pinned to her front door, desperately kissing the brunette, while she scrambled to insert her key in the lock.

"What's the hold up red?" Beca asked breaking the kiss.

"Hold on. It's kinda hard to open the door when there's a body blocking it", Chloe giggled. "There", she said finally unlocking the door and throwing it open with a satisfied grin. "After you m'lady", Chloe motioned for Beca to go in.

Stepping into the other girl's apartment, Beca did a quick scan of the place. It was a decent size unit—for college kids—with an open concept layout and what looked like a small balcony off of the living area. The doorway entered into the centre of the apartment, with the kitchen to the left on the back wall, a small kitchen table in front of that, and then a good size living room to the right of the door, which was flanked by a wall of windows and a sliding glass door.

"Nice pla—" Beca started, only to be cut off by Chloe's lips on hers. The kiss was messy and hungry, yet soft and oh so very perfect. Beca was always partial to kissing girls over guys, finding the rough scratching of stubble replaced by far more enjoyable soft, milky skin. But even with the other girls Beca had made out out with, this was different. The way their two lips melded together just felt right. Beca hated herself for sounding so cliché—like one of those annoying love-struck teenagers in Jesse's movies—but something about kissing Chloe made her insides turn to goo. Her usually hard exterior crumbled with every touch, every smile, and every giggle, only to be replaced by a far more relaxed and open Beca. It was like Beca Mitchell 2.0—and she hardly even knew the girl!

Beca was broken out of her thoughts by the redhead's hands on her cheeks, holding her in place as she kissed Beca with more force.

Chloe dropped one hand to slowly nudge Beca backwards and towards the couch. Catching the arm of the couch with the backs of her knees, Beca twirled Chloe by the waist so that their positions were switched, and laid the older girl down, never breaking from her lips.

Things began heating up quickly, with hands urgently roaming each other's bodies, tongues melding in perfect synchronicity, and the growing chorus of mixed moans filling the room.

Chloe's hands had found themselves tucked under Beca's top, lightly scratching over Beca's toned stomach. Slowly, her hands began drifting higher, leaving a trail of goosebumps in their wake, until her fingertips were met with the underwire of Beca's bra. Beca moaned at the redhead's touch, instantly arching forward and encouraging her hands to go higher. Chloe wasted no time, dipping her fingers under the soft fabric and up to meet smooth mounds of flesh. The two continued to kiss one another in a fury of need and lust, Beca leaning over the redhead, whilst Chloe continued her ministrations on Beca's chest.

Breaking away for air, Chloe moved her mouth down to latch onto Beca's neck, kissing and licking in a way that was sure to leave a mark, if not many. She then removed her hands from Beca's chest, slowly sliding them down Beca's stomach until they met the hem of the brunette's jeans.

Chloe began fiddling with the denim fabric, trying to pop the front button of Beca's pants…until Beca saw stars and…and it was all too much.

"Wait!" Beca panted firmly, putting an immediate halt to Chloe's actions. "I can't do this."

Jumping out of the older girl's grasp, Beca moved to sit upright on Chloe's thigh's, breathing heavily as she ran her fingers frustratedly through her hair.

"Shit. Sorry. I-I'm usually good at this", Beca said, rolling her eyes at how stupid she sounded right now.

"What? Sex?" Chloe asked playfully, though it clearly held a sincere undertone.

"No. Well, yes. Sort of. Hooks up. Casual hookup. One night stands", Beca rambled. "Fuck. Sorry, I'm really in my head right now. This-this doesn't usually—no, NEVER—happens."

"It's okay", Chloe reached up to run her hands comfortingly along Baca's arms.

"No listen, Its uhm. I-I really like you. And that's new for me. And I-I just think that you deserve better than a drunken hookup. I want to be better than a drunken hookup."

Chloe's eyes widened and her mouth opened slightly in surprise. But she didn't say anything.

"And if you don't like me like that, if this was just about sex, that fine. We can forget I ever said anything. We're going to have to see each other at for the Bella's all the time, so maybe it's better we don't do anything any ways…you know so its not awkward and all. Plus, Aubrey has that whole not Trebles rule, so I can only image how totally against Bella on Bella action she would be. But then again, she and Stacie are together. But I guess that's different cuz their soulma—" Chloe finally cut off Beca's incessant rambling with an index finger to the brunette's lips.

"Beca. Breathe." Chloe instructed, demonstrating several exaggerated breathes until the smaller girl seemed to have calmed down a bit

Scooching out from underneath Beca, Chloe moved so that the two were now sitting side by side.

"Look. Obviously I like you, otherwise I wouldn't have asked you to come home with me. And usually I'm all for casual sex too…We are in college after all. But I'd be lying if I said I wouldn't be a little disappointed if that's all tonight was. So I am more than happy to skip the sex tonight and just…hang out or something. If you want to, that is."

"Okay, good", Beca let out a breath of relief. She honestly wasn't sure she could 'dine and ditch'—for lack of a better term—on Chloe. That would be the human equivalent to adopting a puppy, and then the next day giving it back to the shelter. Except, Chloe's eyes were even more puppy-like than an actual freaking puppy! And also a tiny part of her didn't want to have to give up the redhead at all…but only a tiny part…right?

"But, I just want to put it out there though that I'm not like a normal functioning human. I'm not good at talking, I don't do feelings, and I'm really not a relationship person. I've never been in one, and I've never felt the need to be. I'm good at being alone. It's my thing. But…I have no fucking clue why, but you're different or something. I like you, and that's new for me. I guess it makes me want to be a better person or some cheesy shit like that, but its true. And I'm not saying you have to go out with me or anything like that...but if we were to go on a date or something, I just want to give you fair warning that I'm probably going to suck at anything remotely romantic or relationshipy…but I'm willing to give it a shot", Beca said, unable to look Chloe directly in the eyes. Beca didn't like being vulnerable, especially knowing that she didn't have a soul mate, so anyone she opened up to was a risk. But, she was somehow comfortable with Chloe, and she wanted to at least try and get her feelings out there and on the table. If nothing else, she would be able to look back and say she had tried; tried to be open, to be in a relationship, to be normal.

"Give it a shot? Wow, I caught myself a real Casanova, huh?" Chloe teased lightheartedly, sensing that Beca needed something—humor, maybe?—to distract from Beca's vulnerability.

Beca scoffed, returning to her usual self. "Yeah, right. Casanova's got nothing on me. I'm more of a Sinatra", She smirked at Chloe sarcastically, but her eyes conveyed a sincere "thank you" for the older girl's compassion.

"Do u want to watch a movie or something instead?" Chloe asked, climbing off of the couch and making her way over to the kitchen to retrieve a couple beers.

"Can we do something else? We could…relive my parent's divorce? Or visit a gynecologist?"

"Not a movie person?" Chloe handed Beca her beer and resumed her previous position on the couch.

"Nope", Beca said popping the 'p' and taking a swig from the bottle. "Jesse's been trying to get me into them for years, but they just aren't my thing. They're all just so predictable and cheesy. They're either too boring or too unrealistic for my liking. So I just skip 'em all together."

"So, what you're really saying is they don't meet the Beca Mitchell standard", Chloe smiled from behind her own drink.

"I have very high standards, I'll have you know."

"Clearly", Chloe said motioning to herself.

"Wait. How do you know my last name?" Beca suddenly realized she had never given Chloe her full name. "Has this whole creepy shower stalker thing not been an act? Are you an actual stalker?"

"I saw it on your registration form you goof", Chloe playful shoved Beca's arm. "I'm not an actual stalker. It's more of a hobby of mine."

"Well now that's just not fair. You've probably got a full bio on me and I don't even know your last name."

"It's Beale. Chloe Elizabeth Beale, in fact. So there, now you know more about me than I know about you. Happy?" Chloe shifted on the sofa, tucking her feet under herself and casually inching closer to Beca.

"Nice try. You're not getting a middle name out of me, Beale."

"Okay then, Beca-to-be-determined-Mitchell," Chloe said, purposefully drawing out the other girl's name. "So, no on the movie front. What do you want to do instead?"

"Doesn't matter."

"Drinking game?"

"I have to walk home", Beca said taking another sip of her beer. "This is already like my fifth drink tonight, and I actually need to be able to remember how to get home…and walk."

"Okay, fair", Chloe agreed. She did like this girl after all, couldn't have her spending the night in a ditch somewhere. "OH! I know! How about 20 Questions?" Chloe said, bouncing in her seat.

"Eh. Like I said, I'm not great at sharing things…"

"Okay. No problem. How about we play, but with only really basic questions? You can veto any questions you deem too personal." Chloe raised her hand in a 'scout's honor' pledge.

"Yeah, okay…that sounds fine", Beca said reluctantly.

The two played the game for the better part of an hour, covering favorite animals—Chloe's was a tie between puppies and giraffes, while Beca's was a sloth—favorite colours—both blue—first jobs, lucky numbers, favorite superheroes, favorite sports—or in Beca's case, least hated—and favorite foods. They truly were the most generic questions the two girls could come up with, and yet, they each opened up a small window into the life and mind of the other one. Somehow, just knowing Chloe's least favorite flavor of gum and the color of her bedroom walls growing up, Beca felt closer to her—and if it was possible, she fell for her even more. From the way Chloe debated between whether polka dots or paisley were her favorite pattern—as if the textiles themselves would be personally offended—to how she crinkled her nose in embarrassment when she told Beca that her first celebrity crush was on Charlie Brown. "I didn't understand that he wasn't real, okay!" She had defended, then immediately falling into laughter alongside Beca. Beca was hooked. God, she was pathetic. And boy was this ever going to suck. But hey, at least for now, she can pretend that Chloe isn't going anywhere and that this could be real—or well, at least that's what she's going to do. And Chloe should understand that, Chloe's obviously not going into whatever this is thinking it's going to be forever. Chloe has a soul mate of her own, who she'll eventually meet and fall in love with. That's just how it works. So Beca figures that as long as they are on even ground, this could maybe be an okay arrangement—great even.

The two are in the midst of their 'favorite Starburst flavor' discussion when the front door swings open, revealing an unsteady Stacie, currently being held up by her tipsy—but not quite as tipsy—girlfriend.

Poking her head over the back of the couch, Chloe waves a friendly hello to the pair, using the back cushion to hide her amused grin at Stacie's current state.

Leaning down to pull off her sky high heels, Stacie's left hand had firmly attached itself to Aubrey's chest, using the blonde's boobs for support. Noticing Chloe's amusement, Beca had also craned her head around to watch the two girls. Beca thinks Aubrey must've been pretty drunk because the blonde didn't so much as bat an eye at Stacie's drunken manner, simply holding onto the brunette's arm, whilst she simultaneously fiddled with her shoe strap and Aubrey's right breast. She had to admit, the two were quite a pair.

Popping up from her hunched battle, Stacie finally noticed the other two girls on the couch.

"Heyyy, Chloe! And Beca!" She drawled, sauntering—or well trying to at least—over to the pair. "You two bone yet?" She asked with a mischievous smirk, pointed a swaying finger at the redhead and smaller brunette.

"Stacie", Aubrey giggled, joining the other girls by the couch. "Here we go", Beca thought. "That doesn't even make sense. Bone's a short form for boner. Their girls. They don't have penis's, Stace", Aubrey said very matter of factly. "What the hell happened to Aca-Nazi?" Beca thought, stunned by the blonde's relaxed demeanor.

"And that my cue to leave", Beca said uncomfortably, turning around and grabbing her empty bottle off of the coffee table in a futile attempt to hide her blush. Beca heaved herself off of the couch and walked around the other two girls to throw her trash out in the kitchen. Chloe followed her lead, picking herself up from the couch and walking herself over to the kitchen as well.

"Oh, hey Chlo?" Aubrey said, grabbing the redhead's attention, "Stacie's going to stay over here tonight. Is that okay?"

"Stacie, why do you even have an apartment if you never sleep there?" Chloe said with a teasing grin. "And yes Aubrey, its fine", she added, noticing the blonde was waiting for an actual answer. Yep, Nazi's back.

"I woulllddd use my place more, except Amy doesn't like competition…if you know what I mean", Stacie smirks, wrapping her arms around Aubrey's waist and purring into her ear.

"Okay, we're going to bed. Night Chlo", Aubrey wheezed in a combination of embarrassment and mischievous excitement.

"Gross", Beca mumbled.

"Night Chloeee", Stacie sang. "And night Beca", she added with a wink to the other girl, allowing Aubrey to tug her along and down the hallway to her bedroom.

Proceeding to round up the rest of her belongings—really only being her shoes and phone, since she was practically dragged from her room earlier—Beca makes her way over to the front door and bids an awkward farewell to Chloe.

Following Beca out into the hallway, Chloe closes the door behind her gently, and grabs Beca's forearm to stop her from walking any further.

"Hey", she says softly, just in case the other two girls happened to be listening in, though that was doubtful. Smoothly reaching her hand around to Beca's back pocket, Chloe slides Beca's phone out and holds it in front of the brunette, seeking access to her device. Beca furrows her eyebrows in confusion, but proceeds to enter her passcode, and hands the phone back to Chloe. Chloe appears to type something into her phone for a minute, though Beca can't quite see what, as Chloe's holding the phone close to her face—possibly because she herself is tipsy at this point—effectively blocking Beca's line of sight.

"Here", she chirps, handing the phone back to Beca. "Now you have my number. And I texted myself, so now I have yours too."

"You're really going full out on the stalker tendencies, aren't ya Beale?" Beca smirks, sliding the phone back into her pocket.

"Shut up", Chloe laughs, giving Beca a playful slap. "Technically, I already have your number, since it's also on your registration form. But now you have my number."

"Seriously though, I'm fully expecting you to call me now", she says, changing her tone to convey her sincerity. "Or text me or whatever. I mean who even calls anyone anymore", she rambles adorably. "Anyways…" she adds, taking a calming breathe. "Call me. Maybe we can go out some time or something."

"Ok, red", Beca smirks at Chloe's nervousness, leaning in to plant one final kiss to the redhead's lips before saying her goodbyes and making her way back to her dorm.

"Oh, and see you at rehearsal's tomorrow!" Chloe calls from the doorway, no longer worrying about Aubrey and Stacie hearing her.

XXX

The Bella's had congregated together in the Davis Auditorium, which would act as their rehearsal space for the rest of the year. The girls were all sitting in fold out chairs awaiting instruction, while Chloe and Aubrey stood at the front next to a free standing chalkboard.

"Alright ladies", Aubrey clapped her hands to get everyone's attention. "Welcome to the first official Bella's rehearsal for the year. I hope you all enjoyed yourselves last night, because now it's time to get down to business."

"She's hot when she's in charge, huh?" Stacie whispered to Beca, who literally had to clamp her mouth shut to prevent herself from gagging.

"Thanks. I just got a very unwelcome glimpse into what your sex life is like", Beca mumbles back, once she's sure she can keep her lunch down.

"Okay, well. As I'm sure you can see, Kori is not here. Last night she was Treble-boned. She's been disinvited from the Bella's."

"That oath was serious?" Beca's jaw dropped. She had honestly thought that that was something Aubrey had just said to spite her, thinking that she and Jesse were an item. But apparently not.

"Dixie Chicks serious", Aubrey glared back at Beca. "You can fool around with anyone you want, just not a Treble", she said, no longer speaking to Beca alone.

"Here that? Anyone…" Stacie again leaned over to whisper in Beca's ear and motioning with her eyes over to Chloe.

"So…does anyone here have anything to confess?" Aubrey asks knowingly, with raised eyebrows.

"It was an accident!" Mary Elise defends.

"Turn in your scarf and go."

And with that, Mary Elise runs sobbing out of the auditorium, leaving a room full of shocked girls in her wake.

*Cough* "Slut", Amy mutters quietly.

"Was that necessary?" Beca asks dumbfounded.

"This is war, Beca. It's my job to make sure my soldiers are prepped and ready at go time with three kick ass songs sung and choreographed to perfect", Aubrey bites back.

"We only have four months until regionals, so if you have a problem with how I run the Bell—", Aubrey camped her hand over her mouth, as she tried to stifle a gag.

"Uh oh", Stacie whispers worriedly, seeing the stress on her girlfriends face.

"Aubrey, relax. We don't want a repeat of last year", Chloe whispers to her friend, though its not quiet enough and the other girls overhear her remark.

"Uhm. What Happened last year?" Lily asks in the quietest of voices. After a round of "what's" and "can you say that again's", Lily finally asks her question loud enough for the other girls to—barely—hear.

Figuring that the girl's deserved to know what they were joining, or at the very least figuring they would find out on their own eventually, Aubrey reluctantly takes out her iPad and pulls up a video of her projectile vomiting from last year's ICCA's.

"No wonder you're such a twig bitch", Amy chuckles, earning herself a high five from Cynthia Rose.

"Well at least this explains some of her Nazism", Beca thinks to herself.

"Enough! It's over. Now, up on your feet ladies. We have A LOT of work to do."

XXX

They'd been running steps and singing scales for the past two hours when Aubrey finally calls it a day. "Okay ladies, I'm calling it".

"That was a really great start for today!" Chloe adds brightly. Seriously how does she have that much energy left?

While the other Bella's lazily drag themselves out of the auditorium, Aubrey takes a moment to berate Beca about her piercings—or rather, her 'ear monstrosities'.

"You really don't like me, do you?" Beca states defensively.

"I don't like your attitude."

"You don't even know me."

"Hey guys!" Chloe walks up to the two girls and takes a sip from her water bottle, clearly not sensing the tension between her fellow Bella's. "I think that was a pretty good first practice, huh?" she says genuinely.

"They still need a lot of work", Aubrey blows out a frustrated breath. "I have to stop at the library," she says to Chloe, "I'll see you at home."

Once Aubrey's gone, Chloe turns her attention back to Beca, who is now packing her belongings into her bag.

"Hey, you!" Chloe smiles brightly at Beca.

"Hi…" Beca says, swinging her bag over her shoulder.

"Soooooo, you never called me", Chloe says innocently, pulling her lower lip between her teeth. "Or texted me. Or whatever", she finished with a grin.

Honestly, Beca had every intention of texting Chloe once she got home last night, and then again this morning, but she just couldn't bring herself to do it. She had spent the past 12 hours staring at her phone, typing out a message to Chloe and promptly erasing it. She wasn't this type of girl. She didn't pine over someone. She didn't get butterflies. And she mostly definitely didn't get attached. Or well, at least she didn't use to. Now? Well, now she found herself feeling all of that and so much more for Chloe. So, she had simply decided to just not text her and then maybe her feelings would subside and she could just go back to how she was before. But when she saw Chloe today at rehearsals, her resolve instantly crumbled and she was back to thinking that maybe, just maybe, she could give this a try…just for a little while. After all, it's not like this is some huge commitment. This is not permanent. She can get out any time she wants. Chloe has a soul mate of her own, and eventually she'll have to go off and find whoever that person is. But for now, Beca can maybe give this whole dating thing a try—at least to say she got to experience it.

"Right yeah, sorry…I totally meant to. I swear I did. I just had my first official day of classes today and then I just figured I'd see you here…Plus, I had a lot to drink last night and I wasn't sure I was even remembering last night right" Beca replied nervously, drowning in the redhead's sea blue eyes.

Chloe laughed at Beca's visible shyness. "You had like six beers total last night, and they were spaced out over like…4 hours. Unless you're the worlds biggest lightweight, which I mean you could be given…" she motioned to Beca's height, "but I seriously doubt you were drunk last night. Let alone wasted enough to have forgotten what happened. I think I just make you nervous. You know your whole 'tough girl' act isn't fooling me, right?"

Refusing to admit that Chloe was right, Beca maintains her cool exterior and simply gives the redhead a challenging smirk.

Beca then pulls her phone out of her bag's side pocket and focuses on typing out a command.

"What are you doing?" Chloe asks

Ignoring Chloe's comment altogether, Beca holds her phone up to her ear and lets out an exaggerated sigh and she "casually" looks around the room.

Suddenly Chloe feels her own phone vibrating in her pocket. Smiling when she sees Beca's name on the caller ID, she casually slides the bar to 'answer' and says an innocent, "hello?"

"Hi Chloe, it's Beca. Beca Mitchell", she says with a smirk.

"And what can I do for you, Beca Mitchell?"

"I told you I'd call. So here I am…calling."

"Go on…"

"What are you up to right now?" Beca asked.

"Depends. What did you have in mind?" Chloe said, doing her best to keep her smile at bay.

"How would you, Chloe Elizabeth Beale, like to go hang out with me right now?"

"I would love to."

"Okay, meet me at the auditorium", Beca replied, looking down to end the call and slide her phone away again. "Oh, hey! Chloe", Beca said in mock surprise when she looked back up.

"Such a goof", Chloe giggled with a shake of her head, as she and Beca made their way out of the building.

XXX

After leaving the auditorium, Beca and Chloe had made their way over to the quad. It was a nice day and they had just spent the last few hours cooped up in a dusty old rehearsal space, so it was a welcome change to be able to sit outside and relax.

They had stopped on their way over from the auditorium to grab drinks and a few snack from one of the campus coffee carts, and had then sprawled themselves out under a rather large tree on the eastern edge of the quad.

It was a good spot. It was private enough that others couldn't listen in on their conversation, yet, if there was an awkward silence, they were close enough to the walking path that they could simply people watch and be content. Beca had this all thought out.

They talked for a little while, mostly about the Bella's and school, while they munched on their food, until Beca pulled her laptop out from her bag and asked if Chloe wanted to listen to some music. When Chloe eagerly nodded her head yes, Beca unraveled her pair of earbuds, giving Chloe one and keeping one for herself.

When Beca asked Chloe what she felt like listening to and the redhead had replied with, "anything", Beca was content to just put her library on shuffle. Chloe recognized the first few songs and hummed along as they played, occasionally turning her head to smile at Beca or to encourage her to hum along as well.

It wasn't until the fourth song played that Chloe realized she didn't recognize the track. She knew the songs that were both included in the mash up, but she'd never heard this particular version. And she loved it.

Nudging Beca in the side, Chloe pointed to the tiny speaker in her ear. "Who is this? It's really good!"

Pulling the earbud from her own ear, Beca furrowed her brows nervously. "Oh, uhm. It's…me."

"Seriously?" Chloe's jaw dropped and her eyes widened to twice their normal size.

"Yeah. Well, I just did the mash up. I didn't like write the songs or sing them or anything like that", Beca said brushing off the compliment.

"Oh my God. That's amazing. You're really talented", Chloe said genuinely and placing a reassuring hand on Beca's thigh.

"Uhm…Thanks. It's kinda what I want to do with my life…produce music. I want to be a music producer", the younger girls aid, fiddling with the earbud in her hand.

"That's amazing!" Chloe beamed. "See, I knew you were meant to be a Bella! Music is in you."

"Not that kind of music…" Beca mumbled.

"Well, maybe we can work on that with Aubrey. I'm sure if she could hear how awesome this is", she says motioning to Beca's computer, "she would be willing to change our style up a little."

"I don't think Aca-Naz—", Beca started, only to be cut off my someone approaching the two girls.

"Beca, hi", her dad smiled, walking up to the two girls. "I though that was you."

"Hi, I'm Dr. Mitchell. Beca's dad", Warren said, introducing himself to Chloe. "I teach comparative lit here". "I was just on my way to class", he then said, turning his attention back to Beca. "It's nice to see you're making some friends, Beca."

"Uh, yeah. Dad, this is Chloe. Chloe, my dad", Beca said dryly, as she motioned between the two.

"Hi! It's very nice to meet you", Chloe extended her hand with a friendly smile.

"Nice to meet you as well", Warren smiled back. "Alright, I better get going. I just wanted to say 'hi'. I don't want to be late on the first day", he chuckled. "I'll see you girls later", Warren waved and walked off.

Once Warren had walked off and was out of ear shot, Chloe turned back to Beca. "So your dad's a professor here?"

"Uhm. Yeah. That's kind of why I'm here actually. He wanted me to have a college education or some crap. Plus, because he tenured, I get free tuition. So, here I am", Beca replied unenthused.

"He seems pretty nice. And you've definitely got his eyes", Chloe presses on. "But you don't really have his bone structure. Do you look more like your mom?"

"Yeah, I guess", Beca says, distracting herself with rolling up her earbuds and packing away her laptop. "Uhm, can we maybe not talk about my family?"

"Oh, yeah. Sure", the redhead says apologetically, sensing she may have struck a nerve with the smaller girl. "Sorry. I could talk about my family all day. Sometimes I forget other people aren't like that."

"Its cool…So, what's the Beale clan like?" Beca says, shifting her tone from vulnerable to teasing.

Chloe goes on to tell Beca ALL about her family. From her mom Elizabeth (Liz), to her dad Mike. From her oldest brother Caleb (Cal), whose six years her prior and recently married to a girl named Julia, to her younger older brother Matt, who Chloe swears isn't actually two years older, but ten years younger than her sometimes. From her crazy Aunt Linda, to her Nan and Pop pop, right down to her childhood dog Molly, who joined the kennel in the sky—as Chloe put it—during her senior year of high school.

It's like every time Beca talks to Chloe she gets a full education on who Chloe Beale is and what her life is life. And she kind of loves it. She feels privileged to get to know so much about the redhead in such a short time, whereas she had hardly share her coffee order with the barista at Starbucks. The two are so clearly polar opposites, and yet, somehow they get along so well. Where Beca is moody and reclusive, Chloe is the epitome of a people person, practically bursting with sunshine and rainbows. Where Beca is quiet and closed off, Chloe is happy to fill in the silence with laughter and stories about everything and anything, while somehow managing to never make it all about herself. And in return, Beca is happy to listen and let Chloe's kind nature slowly draw her out of her own shell.

"So yeah. That's how my brothers and I broke our parent's pool", Chloe reminisced with a cheeky grin.

Beca had lost herself a little while ago to her own thoughts, watching Chloe speak animatedly but not registering what she was saying anymore. Sitting with the older girl—sober—made Beca realize just how much she really did like Chloe. And that was fucking terrifying. Beca wasn't good with people or with words. So she had spent the last half of Chloe's apparent 'pool story' fighting an internal battle with herself, willing her self to say six simple words.

"Will you go out with me?" Beca blurted out so quickly, she's not even sure she had said the words at all.

"Sorry, what?"

"Do you maybe want to go out with me some time? Like on a proper date?" Beca said again, this time more slowly—through no less nervous.

"You mean this", Chloe says, motioning to their make shift picnic, "wasn't you pulling out all the stops?"

Beca just rolls her eyes playfully in an attempt to distract from her inner—not so inner—anxiety

"Sorry, sorry", Chloe jumps in waving her hands frantically, obviously having caught onto Beca's cover-up. "Yes", she breathes happily. "Yes, I would love to go out on a date with you."

Beca immediately perks up, in a combination of excitement and sheer shock. "Sick", she says nonchalantly. "Sick? Really? Fuck. Shoot me now", Beca grumbles internally, as Chloe giggles at Beca's 'smooth' response.

"Sorry, that was bad", Beca grimaces.

"I thought it was cute".

"Okay, that's it, never mind. Date's off. I can't go out with someone who calls me 'cute'", Beca says sarcastically, pretending to pack up her stuff and get up to leave.

Chloe beams back, throwing herself onto Beca's arm and pulling her back down, squealing her "but you're just so cute's" whilst peppering the small brunette's face with kisses.

Yeah…Beca could get use to this.

Wait, what?

XXX

 _Thanks for reading! Chapter 6 is currently in the works._

 _P.S. Bechloe first date is coming up...any ideas, or anything you want to see?_


	6. Chapter 6

_Hello everyone!_

 _I FINALLY have chapter 6 for you. It took me longer to write than expected...but i think it's worth it._

 _I never expected this story to be so long or to have such an audience, but here we are!_

 _This story is not beta'd, so all mistakes are my own. P.S. if anyone is interested in being a beta, message me :)_

 _As always, prompts are welcome and reviews are loved (because I am a needy bitch)!_

 **Chapter 6**

"Jesse! Open up!" Beca yelled as she banged her fist loudly on her friend's dorm room door.

"Beca, what the—" Jesse started, having to quickly dodge his tiny friend's fist, which was mid-knock—or rather, mid-pound.

Ignoring Jesse's confusion, Beca quickly slid under the boy's arm arm pushed past him and into his room.

"Fuckfuckfuck!" She muttered to herself, running her fingers through her hair in frustration.

Closing the door behind the frantic brunette, Jesse turned around to see Beca pacing around his room in…panic? Fear, maybe? "Beca, calm down", he said with concern. Beca didn't calm down though. Instead she continued her anxious pacing, giving no indication she had even heard Jesse. Beginning to panic himself, Jesse stepped in front of the smaller girl and grabbed onto her shoulders, putting an abrupt halt to her pacing.

Looking her dead in the eyes, Jesse did his best to read his friend's expression. And what he saw, did nothing but worry him further. Beca's brows were furrowed, her eyes were swimming with panic, and her bottom lip had found itself caught in the vice grip of her teeth, whilst her entire body shook with anxiety.

"Bec, what's wrong? You're kinda freaking me out", he finally spoke, doing his best to sound calm.

"Code red! RED!", she shouted hysterically, twisting out of Jesse's grip and resuming her previous path.

Beca looked as if her eyes were ready to pop out of her head, that, or her entire head was about to blow—you know, which came first.

"Am I supposed to know what that means?" Jesse wondered.

Beca _finally_ stopped her paced, slowly turning to face Jesse as rubbed her hands down her face in frustration. Willing herself to calm down, Beca closed her eyes and blew out a heavy breath.

"I asked Chloe out", she spoke, finally sounding a bit calmer.

"Ohhh, _red._ Gotcha", Jesse said, the realization finally dawning on him. "Wait, isn't that a good thing? Why are you freaking out?"

"I don't dooo dates. I've never even been _on_ a date. Let alone had to plan one". Beca spoke with her hands, dejectedly sinking down onto the boy's bed. "Due, I am _so_ screwed", she mumbled in her hands.

"What do you mean you've never been on a date? How is that even possible. What about that Derek guy you dated in eleventh grade?"

"We never actually _went out_ , we mostly just drove around, drank, made out and—"

"Yeah, okay. I get it", Jesse said, holding his hand up and scrunching his face in disgust.

Smirking at the boy's reaction, Beca went on, "What did u think I did with him? He was four years older than me."

"Okay, moving on before I puke", Jesse shuddered. "So Chloe, huh? That's good. Really good", he smiled warmly. "I'm proud of you Becs. I think this will be good for you. Chloe seems good for you", he added genuinely, placing a hand on her shoulder as if to prove just that.

" _Jesse"_ , she said pointedly, shrugging his hand off of her. "We both know that no matter how good she is or how good she _may_ be for me, it doesn't matter", she states in a tone that was far too numb for Jesse's liking.

"You gotta stop letting this tattoo think define your life Becs", Jesse counters, taking a seat next to her on the bed. "You should just live", he adds firmly.

"Okay", Beca shifts her body on the bed so that she is looking at Jesse. " _You_ do not get to say that to me", she bites back, pointing a finger at her friend. " _You_ have a soulmate. So, you don't get to judge. Capiche?"

Even though Beca's doing her best to sound menacing and hide her inner hurt behind a venomous tone, Jesse can see the pain in her eyes. He knows that the whole 'soulmate situation' is a tough topic for Beca, and so he mostly tries to avoid bringing it up. But sometimes he just can't bite his tongue. However, even he knows that he may have gone too far and struck a nerve. Of course Beca _wants_ to live her life without the weight of eternal loneliness on her shoulders, but when everyone else in the world has a soulmate, it's pretty hard not to dwell on it.

He knows it must be pretty hard to live like that; every time she sees a happy couple walking down the street, to every tattooed name peaking out from behind a piece of clothing, even every person Beca's ever "been" with, is a blazing reminder of that empty spot of flesh where her soulmate's name should be, but isn't. How Beca chooses to cope with that, is her issue, not Jesse's. Jesse has no idea what any of that is like, so he relents.

"Your right. I'm sorry. Moving on", Jesse offers with an apologetic grin. "So…" He drawls, flipping the switch from solemn to giddy an almost alarmingly rate. "You asked Chloe out…" Grinning mischievously and wiggling his eyebrows in a manner that never fails to annoy Beca.

Beca just rolls her eyes. "Pretty sure we already established that, loser", the girl mocks. "Now will you pleaseee help me. I'm desperate", she pleads. "I don't know how to plan a date for shit. Let alone one worthy of someone like Chloe."

Jesse has to quite literally bite his cheek in order to stifle his laugh. In all the year's he and Beca have been friends, never has he ever seen his friend so desperately vulnerable. Its amusing to say the least—and sort of endearing, though he could never tell her that. Badass Beca Mitchell _does not_ beg, she _does not_ plead, and she most definitely _does not_ do puppy eyes. But apparently that's all gone out the window…all for one Miss Chloe Beale.

Jesse holsters this thought, and instead chooses to go the more playful route with his friends, knowing that Beca _would not_ appreciate his cooing over how sweet she was being.

Instead, he sucks in a dramatic breath and clutches a hand to his heart in feigned—not so fake—shock. "Are you, Beca Mitchell, actually asking me, the God of all things film, to impart some of my romcom movie magic on you?"

Beca nods her head reluctantly. "God, he's never going to shut up about this", she says to herself.

"Okay. Who are you and what have you done with Beca?" Jesse questions seriously, leaning in to carefully inspect Beca's face.

Pushing his face away with a quick roll of her eyes, Beca shuffles so that she's now sitting a little farther away from Jesse's prying hands. "Shut up dude" she mumbles, trying to hide her smirk. "Seriously, can you help me?" she then adds softly, looking around the room as to not meet Jesse's gaze.

"Okay, okay. I'm here to help. What have you got so far?"

"…Food…?"

"Mama mia", Jesse huffs.

"Hey that's a movie right!" Beca perks up, her eyes pleading for _any_ kind of help.

"Crap you really do need my help", Jesse mutters with a comical shake of his head. "Alright, let do this!"

XXX

Beca pulls up to Chloe's apartment the following Friday in Jesse's Volkswagen Golf. The boy had offered his car up to Beca for the night, after he deemed Beca's suggestion to just 'bus it or something' utterly unacceptable—which it was. Beca was confident that she and Jesse had planned a good date for the night, but she still couldn't pause the doubts from racing through her mind. This was entirely new territory for the tiny brunette, and believe it or not, she actually wanted to make a good impression.

Turning the ignition off, Beca spared one final glance at herself in the fold down mirror. She checked that her makeup hadn't smudged—surprised to see it had actually withstood her incessant lip biting and nervous face-touching on the ride over—brushed her shirt smooth, and then exited the car before she lost her nerve and drove back on out of there.

Walking up to Chloe's door, Beca was pretty sure she could give Aubrey a run for her money right about now, as the pre-date nausea began to set in. It had been a couple of days since she asked Chloe out, and while she has seen the girl several times since, for Bella's practice and the occasional coffee, she just couldn't seem to shake her nerves.

Swallowing her anxiety as best she could, Beca nervously wiped her palms on her jeans and reached up to tap three times on Chloe's door.

Beca heard the distinct clacking of heals on hardwood from the other side of the door before the thick piece of wood swung open, revealing those signature cerulean orbs and radiant smile.

As always, it took Beca a moment to adjust to the sight of the stunning redhead. Much like when someone turns on a bright light in a pitch black room, Beca was always stunned for a moment by the sight of the older girl, not so much by her beauty—though there was no denying that—but more so by the energy that just seemed to ooze from Chloe.

"Hi!" Chloe beamed, clearly excited to see Beca. _So far so good!_

"Oh, uhm yeah. Hi." Beca replies, finally coming back down to reality. "You look really nice…I mean, you always look nice, but you—you look like extra nice tonight."

Chloe was wearing a simple, yet stylish, white lace off-the-shoulder romper, which was cut at her thighs and paired with matching white wedges. Her makeup was minimal, but eventuated her eyes, and her hair was down, cascading over her bare shoulders. Put simply, she looked beautiful—not overdone, but stunning nonetheless.

Beca on the other hand, had opted for a more casual, 'Beca-ish', look. She may want to impress Chloe, but she wasn't about to change who she was to do so. She wore a simple white v-neck shirt under an open-front black leather jacket, and a slim-fitted pair of dark denim jeans. Her look was completed by her signature eyeliner and piercings, while her hair was swept away from her face in a parted half-up-do. She too looked very nice—a little edgier than Chloe, but very put together as far as Beca's concerned.

"Thanks!" Chloe giggles at Beca's rambling. "You look very nice too."

"Thanks", Beca says shyly, looking down to smooth out her shirt, _again._ "So are you ready to go?"

"Absolutely! I'm very excited to see what you have planned for this mystery date."

Chloe had been bugging Beca non-stop for the past few days to tell her what she had planned for their date. The redhead had begging for even the slightest of clues as to what they were going to be doing or where they would be going, but Beca had kept her mouth locked tight. To be honest, Beca had initially only dodged Chloe's probing because she herself had no idea what they would be doing yet. Then once she and Jesse solidified their plan for the evening, she had already shrugged Chloe off so many times there was no going back, so she just kept quiet. And then of course Jesse pointed out how much more romantic it would be for Chloe to be surprised by the date, insisting Beca not say a word to the older girl about the evening, or else he would invoke a forced movie marathon of _all_ his favorite Disney movies. So that sealed the deal.

The two walked down to the parking lot, exchanging the usual pleasantries and helloes, Beca fumbling over her words—per usual—while Chloe just smiled and played the smaller girl's awkwardness off with a quick joke or tender smile.

Beca pulled the borrowed car keys out of her pocket, clicking the doors unlocked, and leading Chloe over to the parked car.

The clicking of locks and quick flash of lights told Chloe which car Beca was leading her to, prompting her to turn to Beca with a quirked brow. "Didn't take you for a VW type of girl", Chloe said as they crossed the parking lot. "I was expecting maybe a Jeep, or Hummer…or a forest green Subaru", the redhead chuckled.

"Yeah, no. It's not mine, it's Jesse's. I don't have a car", Beca replied casually. "And why would you think I'd own a Subaru? What am I, a 45-year-old soccer mom?" She questioned.

"You know", Chloe said motioning with her hands, hoping for Beca to catch her train of thought. Clearly that didn't work though, because Beca just stared at her with confused anticipation. "Oh my God, you're useless", Chloe laughs with a shake of her head. "It's a joke. They are the stereotypical 'lesbian car'."

"Oh", Beca obviously wasn't familiar with that reference. "Well, no. I do not, nor will I _ever_ drive a station wagon. This clown car—" She says reaching to open the passenger door for Chloe, "is bad enough. I'm pretty sure I lost twenty bad ass points just on the drive over here."

"It's cute. Just. Like. You." Chloe bops Beca on the nose playfully, giggles erupting from behind her guilty smile, as she slides into the car.

"Watch it, Beale", Beca leans down to chastise the redhead. Holding her tone firm, Beca does her best to sound as menacing as her 5.2" stature will allow, but secretly loving Chloe's ability to joke with her. Mind you, she did not like being called 'cute', but she did appreciate that Chloe was a girl who could both dole it out and take it all in fun. After all, Beca was the queen of sarcastic jabs, and while other people's teasing usually set her off on an attitude-filled rampage, when Chloe did it…it was different; it was endearing, and playful, and comfortable…and pretty damn hot.

Walking around the front of car, Beca hops in the seat next to Chloe and begins to reverse out of the parking lot.

"So, are you going to tell me where we're going _now?"_ Chloe begs, with the added ammunition of puppy eyes. The waiting had truly been killing the older girl, and at this point, she was desperate to know what the mysterious alt girl had planned for their first date.

The fact that someone like Beca asked her out in the first place was a shock to the redhead—giving their polar opposite personalities and all—but the fact that the brunette had actually gone to the trouble of planning an entire date for Chloe in secret and hadn't just shucked it off on the redhead…that was the real treat. After all, Beca had made it very clear that this whole thing was far outside her wheelhouse, so to see her take such initiative was very sweet. Most of Chloe's previous suitors would usually just op for whatever Chloe wanted to do—that is if they didn't just jump straight to the bedroom. So she was very excited for tonight.

"Oh, hush. You're just lucky I didn't blindfold you, Beale", Beca smirks, not taking her eyes off of the road.

"Ooh, kinky. I like it", the redhead winks back.

XXX

Their first stop of the night: food.

Beca ends up taking Chloe to dinner at a local pub about five minutes off campus. It's really not as grungy as it sounds. Sure, the place looks more like a bar than a restaurant, but it actually has really good food—Beca and Jesse had made sure to scout it out ahead of time. But what makes the place so special—or so Yelp claims—are its' theme nights. And tonight, tonight is trivia night.

At first, Beca thought the whole thing was stupid and had promptly told Jesse so—not being one for themed events. But Jesse had assured her it would be great, and told her to trust him on this one…so she did.

And she should probably thank Jesse for his foresight, because the dinner actually went better than Beca could have ever expected. Beca ends up knowing for more of the answers than she had anticipated, and she's not going to lie, she kind of loves the look Chloe gets every time she answers some obscure question about mythology or the origin of basketball correctly.

"How did you know that elephants also go through menopause?"

"One time when my aunt was bitching about hot flashes, she said she wished she could be an animal instead—like a horse or an elephant—and my know-it-all cousin piped up and said that apparently elephants go through menopause too. Once you hear it, it's not really something you forget."

Overall, the dinner goes well—save for Chloe's occasional competitive outburst...who knew the girl was so passionate about trivia? There was certainly no shortage of conversation, with the trivia questions acting as natural conversation starters and helping to ward off any first date awkward silences. Not that they really needed the help, the two girls seemed to be just fine on that front…but it certainly helped ease Beca's nerves.

It's reminiscent of the night they spent in Chloe's apartment playing 20 Questions, and it's a casual way for the two to get to know each other better without having to do the standard—and oh so boring—first-date interrogations. Beca would love to say that that was coincidental, but in reality, she and Jesse—well, more so Jesse—had the night planned down to a tee. She realizes now that that's probably why Jesse was so insistent on her taking Chloe to the trivia night and not to some other restaurant nearby. But also, had the night gone sour, the bar was lively enough that Beca wouldn't have been trapped alone with Chloe, with no other distraction or out. She then would be able to call in a night once their current round of trivia ended and promptly drive Chloe home, without so much as a peep about part 2 of the evening. Thus, avoiding any uncomfortable one-on-one time…and of course, Chloe would be none the wiser.

But of course, the dinner goes swimmingly well, exceeding all of Beca's expectations for the night and leaving Chloe thoroughly impressed…and more than a little smitten with the tiny brunette.

And so, Beca proceeds with part 2 of the evening.

XXX

Part 2: Dinner✓ and a show

Once their dinner is done and they are all trivia'd-out, Beca leads Chloe back to the car and sets off for the second half of their evening.

The two girls drive for another five minutes or so, joking and laughing over the strange array of trivia questions they had just been bombarded with, while Beca's mixes play quietly in the background.

It's now dark, and so when Beca finally slows the car to pull into an empty space, Chloe can't quite make out where they are. The parking lot—if you could even call this dirt patch that—is surrounded by a perimeter of trees and situated on the edge of a small lake. She figures it must be a park of some sort…but it doesn't look familiar to the redhead. Unlike their drive to the restaurant, Chloe hadn't been paying close attention to where the brunette was driving, instead too wrapped up in Beca's terrible impression of the couple who sat next to them during dinner and their penchant for confidently shrieking out the most disturbingly wrong answers you could ever imagine. It didn't really matter though _where_ they were. At this point, she would happily roam a sewer with Beca, so long as it was with the tiny brunette.

"Alright, Beale", Beca says surely, turning in her seat to look at the redhead. She has her left wrist hanging over the steering wheel in cool confidence, while her other arm sits propped by her elbow on the car's center console. The image is a far cry from the nervous and jittery Beca who picked Chloe up only a short while ago, but the picture makes Chloe's heart melt nonetheless. "Are you ready to have your socks knocked off?"

"Bring it", Chloe nods back with an amused grin.

Once out of the car, Beca quietly reaches for Chloe's hand and walks the two along a path towards another small clearing in the park.

This clearing looks far more legitimate than the rough patch where they had parked the car. There's a small concession stand on the edge of the clearing, with a cluster of park benches and picnic tables scattered throughout the paved area. For a moment, Chloe wonders what the booth is doing open at 9 o'clock at night, but her confusion is soon replaced by a cone of frozen deliciousness and her question is forgotten altogether.

Glancing at Chloe's order in amused horror, Beca chuckles. "I never knew ice cream could say so much about a person until now", she smirks, motioning with her head to the redhead's rainbow sherbet, buried beneath a thick layer of rainbow sprinkles.

Chloe scoffs in mock offence. "Excuse you. I'm not even going to acknowledge that", she looks away dramatically, biting her tongue on what Beca's vanilla soft serve dipped in chocolate says about her. _Nope, not even going to go there._

Beca leads Chloe along a different path this time as the two eat their ice cream and joke lightheartedly. The path spits the girls back out at the small clearing where Beca had parked earlier, but had meandered through the forest more than the first trail they took, allowing the girls to finish their cones before returning to the car. The degree to which everything had been so carefully planned did not go unnoticed by Chloe.

Beca tells Chloe to wait for one second while she sets something up. She goes to open the trunk of the car, which thanks to her reverse park-job, was conveniently facing in the direction of the lake and not the dark forest.

Chloe watches as Beca pulls an old patchwork blanket out of the backseat, pushes down the seats, and unfolds the blanket across the back on the car. Its not a big car—as Beca so aptly pointed out early—but it is a hatch back, so they can comfortably sit and lean back without having to sit on the ground.

It's only once Beca motions for Chloe to join her in the hatch, that the redhead notices that there is life on the other side of the lake.

There seems to be some sort of a show starting. There definitely weren't so many lights on across the lake when they first arrived, so she can only assume that whatever is going on over there, is just setting up.

Upon closer inspection, Chloe can see that there is a small stage, where a band looks to be preparing for a show. There is a sizable crowd of people around the stage, some sitting on the grass, others standing nearby, but it doesn't appear to be too formal of an event. Probably some sort of indie band, Chloe thinks.

The band finally finishes setting up, and takes to the stage to introduce themselves and start the show. They have a good sound. It's a little more singer/songwriter than Chloe had initially expected them to be, but they have a unique rock edge that adds an unexpected flair.

The girls have a great view of the band from their position in the car. Being on the opposite side of the lake from the show, they can hear the music clearly, yet are situated far enough away that they can exist in their own little world.

"These guys are actually pretty good", Beca finally pipes up, motioning across the lake. "I heard them play once back home. They aren't big, but their music is pretty good...They aren't really into theatrics or anything like that, they keep it pretty simple. So I figured it would be okay to not be like right there, you know…but if you want, we can go over there and watch with everyone else", she rambles, moving to hop out of the trunk.

Chloe however, is quick to grab Beca's arm, lightly pulling her back into the car.

"No, no, no. This is perfect. Really", the redhead reaches for Beca's hand with an appreciative and loving smile on her lips. Beca nods shyly, her confidence from earlier forgotten and once again replaced by apprehension.

"So, you've seen them play before?" Chloe asks warmly, trying to ease 'comfortable Beca' back out from hiding.

"Uhm, yeah. Last year actually. They played at some bar by my house."

"So where is home for you exactly?"

"Macon. It's not that far north from here…like a 45 minute drive or so", Beca reveals, still somewhat uncomfortable with sharing details of her life with Chloe—or well, with anyone. She wants to open up to the redhead and share things about her life with her, but she's always on guard, waiting for that inevitable topic to spring up and ruin everything.

"That's nice", Chloe says, listening intently, and not at all in the usual tone "that's nice" is so derisively delivered. "My parents are in Florida...makes going home for visits kind of tricky."

For the first time since meeting the redhead, Beca feels as if the roles are reversed. Seeing Chloe try to hide her sadness behind a thin veil of positivity and playfulness, reminded Beca so much of herself, and how she's been with the older girl this whole time. Usually, Beca would brush off such a vulnerable moment with sarcastic teasing or by changing the subject altogether. But in hearing the way Chloe's voice dropped at the mention of visiting her family, Beca couldn't help but want to show _some_ sort of compassion or provide some comfort for the older girl. After all, Beca remembers quite vividly the passion with which Chloe spoke about her family that night in her apartment—a far cry from her current tone.

"That must suck. I don't really have anyone at home to visit besides my mom…but at least if I needed to, its not that far to go home", the brunette said sympathetically, offering a light squeeze to Chloe's hand.

"It's not so bad anymore, you get used to it", Chloe replies more positively. "You should have seen me during my first real college flu here though. I was _miserable_. I even made my mom fly me over her homemade soup and my favorite blanket from home. Eventually Aubrey just learnt how to make the dang soup so I would stop whining about it", the redhead laughs lightly.

"That's actually kind of nice of the Aca Nazi…"

"Oh my God! Is that what you're calling her?" Chloe laughs, fanning her eyes with her hands to stop from crying she's laughing so hard. Regaining her composure, she adds more seriously, "Aubrey's actually a really good friend. She's basically the sister I never had. She's just a tough nut to crack. But I cracked her!" Chloe boasts triumphantly, "Kind of like how I cracked you", she teases, poking Beca in the ribs.

"You haven't cracked me yet, Beale. In fact…" Beca scratches her chin, "if I remember correctly, I stopped things before you could get a crack at me", she says with a smug grin.

Chloe full on belly laughs at that, because…well…she was technically right. "Oh, shush you", she manages between giggles. "You know what I mean. You've got this whole tough girl bravado going for you…which is fine", she defends with hands raised in surrender, "but underneath all that, you're actually a really great person to talk to; very sweet. Pluuusss, your cute", Chloe drawls, knowing how much it irritates the brunette.

"Do you want me to leave you here, Chlo? Because I will."

"Okay fine. You're not cute…You're…" she taps her finger on her chin in playful thought for a moment, "a very scary, sexy, alt girl. Happy?"

"Think I wouldn't notice the sexy you threw in there?" Beca quirks an eyebrow, desperately hoping Chloe can't see her blush in the dark.

"Well those things were all made up since you don't like cute, sooo…" the redhead teases.

Suddenly feeling a jolt of confidence…or comfort ability…Beca's not really sure which, the brunette leans over the car to plant a soft, yet firm kiss, to Chloe's lips. "You're not so bad yourself, red", Beca whispers against Chloe's lips before finally pulling away.

Settling back into their seats, Chloe turns to ask, "So are you excited to be a Bella?"

"Uhm, I guess", Beca's really not sure how to answer the question without possibly offending the redhead. But she's heard honesty is important in any relationship…so might as well give that a shot. "One of my dad's stupid conditions for me this year was that I had to join a club. It was either the Bella's or the running in a circle club. But I really don't have that kind of stamina in me to do cardio for fun…so the Bella's it was. Although, after last practice, running in a circle all day may actually have been the lesser option."

Chloe doesn't seem offended though by Beca's bluntness, instead giggling at the younger girl's sarcasm. _Oh_ _God,_ that giggle.

"It doesn't seem that bad though. I mean you're in it, and Stacie seems to think pretty highly of the whole thing. So I guess it can't be that bad. Plus, it _is_ music related", Beca adds.

"I think you'll like it. _I_ am there after all."

"Well I do like you. Only a little though", Beca says with a playful scrunch of her nose.

"I may like you too…but only a little", Chloe winks back, scooting over to cozy up beside Beca.

XXX

The two sit and listen to the concert for a little while longer, until the cold night air finally becomes to much to manage. Clearly Beca and Jesse had missed that one tiny fact. Oh well, the rest of the date had gone off without a hitch.

"Alright, it's getting kind of cold, and I don't have a jacket or something to give you like in one of those stupid movies. Plus, I'd better get you back before General Posen blows a gasket at me for not having you home before curfew." Beca smirks, breaking the silence.

"Shut up", Chloe playfully shoves Beca. "You know, for someone who claims to hate movies so much, this date was pretty picture perfect. I feel like I'm on The Bachelor or something", Chloe beams, her crystal blue eyes shining through the dark.

"You seriously watch that trash?"

"Excuse me! That show is an American classic", the redhead protests, utterly offended by Beca's comment.

"Yeah, exactly. There's a reason all the other countries hate us."

"Whatever, you get to watch 20 hot girls in bikinis run around for 60 minutes. I would've thought that'd be right up your alley Miss Mitchell."

"Yeah, except that they are all bimbos. Half of them don't have jobs, and the other half have free sprit or dog lover as their career title."

"Aha! So u do watch it!"

"No. My mom watches it, along with every other girl at my high school. Trust me, I don't need to watch it. I have heard plenty about that stupid show from others", Beca complains, hauling herself out from her spot in the trunk and stretching her back out. She grimaces when she hears an unpleasant pop from her back.

"Fair enough", Chloe relents, following Beca out of the trunk. "And Aubrey's not my mom FYI", the girl adds.

"Really? Does she know that? Cuz she seems to think she has this sort of authority over _literally_ everyone", Beca goes to fold the blanket up and close the trunk.

"She just has really high expectations. It's kind of a family thing."

Beca follows Chloe to the passenger side, opening the door for the girl while she settles herself inside with an appreciate thanks.

Quickly hoping into her own seat, Beca turn to look at Chloe with a perplexed expression. "Yeah, Stacie said something about that. Something about her parents and shrink wrap?"

"Hey, that's my line!" Chloe frowns, "I'm going to have to have a little talk with Miss Conrad about that."

"Chloe", Beca snaps the redhead back to their _actual_ conversation and away from Stacie's apparent plagiarism.

"Oh, yeah", Chloe focuses back to Beca. "Aubrey's dad was in the military. He's not any more, now he's the C.E.O of some company or something…anyways, that's not the point. My point is, he's strict. Like he's probably the strictest person ever. Everything with their family is about presentation and reputation. They really don't care much for affection of any kind, and so he has all these ridiculously high expectations of Aubrey...you know for her grades, appearance, career path…basically everything. It's just a lot of pressure for her. Its kind of the source of her stress vomiting…not that her dad would ever acknowledge that. But yeah. She does her best not to let it affect her, but it does. And so, because she feels like she always needs to be the best, she tends to project that onto others."

"Oh, I didn't know that. That mustn't have been easy then having her soulmate be a girl. Do they know Stacie's her soulmate?"

"Yeah. It was a huge deal when they first found out. Apparently they used to forbid her from talking about it or showing it to other people. Luckily, her tattoo's on her hip though, so it's covered by most clothing. But yeah, it was an issue. For a really long time she has a really hard time accepting her sexuality. But Stacie helped her a lot with that. Not that her parents give a damn. They don't even care that Stacie's pre-med or how happy she makes Aubrey. Honestly, I think if they had it their way, Aubrey would dump Stacie flat out and marry some country club rich boy, ignoring her happiness altogether", Chloe says, her voice a combination of sadness and rage.

"Wow, that's rough. And here I thought I had daddy issues…" Beca mumbles.

"See, I told you. You two are a lot more alike than you care to admit", Chloe nudges the brunette from her seat.

"Okay, lets move on from this, can we?" Beca rolls her eyes at Chloe's comment. _She is nothing like Aubrey._

"Okay", the older girl bites her tongue, instead choosing to switch gears altogether. "Can you keep a secret?" She wiggles her eyebrows at the brunette, leaning over the center console so that her face is mere inches from Beca's.

"Sure…?" Beca glances at Chloe, clearly uncomfortable with the redhead's proximity to her face.

"Stacie told me Amy's been hooking up with Bumper."

"Bumper, as in Teblemaker, Bumper?"

Chloe nods her head eagerly.

"No way! How does she know?"

"They're roommates. Stacie knows ALL about Amy's sexcapades", Chloe says, as if it's the most obvious thing in the world.

"Yeah, I've been meaning to ask you about that. Amy's a freshman, shouldn't she be in the dorms? How did she end up rooming with Stacie?"

"You haven't heard the story? Oh my god", Chloe chuckles with a shake of her head. "Apparently she got kicked out of the dorms on like the first night for indecent exposure in the cafeteria or something", she supplies.

Beca's jaw drops to the floor and her eyes practically bulge out of their sockets, unable to formulate any real response to the bombshell that was just dropped on her.

"I know right?!" Chloe grins. "So yeah, when Stacie mentioned she needed to find a roommate at auditions, Amy heard…and well, the rest is history. Stacie's roommate bailed on her last minute for her boyfriend, so she was pretty desperate to find _anybody_ to take the other room."

"Does Aubrey know about Bumper and Amy?"

"Nope," Chloe shakes her head. "Stacie made me swear not to tell her, and she's been doing her best to keep Aubrey away from her apartment as much as possible."

"Well, when she does find out, make sure to call me. I don't want to miss out on that brawl", Beca smirks, earning herself a swift slap to the shoulder from the redhead next to her.

XXX

They're only a few minutes from Chloe's apartment, when the redhead turns the radio down to smile lovingly at Beca and say, "This was seriously a really great date, Becs. It's probably the sweetest thing anyone's ever done for me."

"Okay, confession time…Jesse may have helped a little in the planning of this date", Beca recoils, as if bracing herself for Chloe's wrath.

But instead, the redhead just smiles back softly. "I kind of figured. Not that I don't think you have it in you…but you kind of strike me more as a pizza and beer date kind of girl. But that doesn't really matter. This was really sweet of you either way. You didn't have to do all of this, you know? I would've been fine with Netflix and Chinese or something."

"Geez you should've told me you were such a cheap date before I did all of this", Beca teased, trying to break from the uncomfortable 'mushy crap'—as she would put put it. "So what I'm hearing is that for our next date, all I have to do is Netflix and chill?"

"Who said ur getting a second date?"

"Uhm, I just did, duh."

"We'll see. We technically still haven't finished this one yet, you could still blow it", Chloe whispers back, with a reassuring pat to Beca's thigh.

XXX

When they arrive back at Chloe's apartment, Beca—abiding by proper dating etiquette—walks Chloe back up to her door. She's glad to have the extra few minutes with Chloe, but it's difficult to think of anything but the last time she was here, and how badly she wants to ravage the older girl.

When they get to Chloe's door, the redhead pops her key in the lock, turning back to Beca once the door is pushed opened.

"Do you want to come in?" Chloe asks innocently.

"I don't think you're suppose to do that on the first date", Beca counters back, nervously. She's doing her best not to look at Chloe for too long, because she knows as soon as she locks onto those cerulean eyes, she'll be a goner. So instead, she focuses on fiddling with her fingers nervously, as she waits for Chloe to reply.

"Since when are you a rule follower? No offence, but you don't really strike me as a by-the-books kind of girl", Chloe says back with a sideways grin.

"No. No, not normally. But…I don't know its jus—"

"Its okay", Chloe cuts her off, realizing Beca was taking her offer far too seriously. "I was teasing. I might be one for one night stands, but I don't put out on the first date, don't worry. You could still come in and just hang out though."

"Thanks", the brunette grins back, thankful the redhead was so good at reading her expressions and moods. "I totally would, but I've got a morning shift at the radio station tomorrow. Its already kind of late, and if I don't get at least some sleep I wont be functional at all tomorrow."

"Oh yeah, smart. We do have rehearsal tomorrow. Kind of need u awake for that", Chloe beams back with a twinkle in her eye.

"Yeah…I uhm…I had a good time tonight. Thanks."

"I think I'm suppose to be the one thanking you Becs", Chloe giggles.

"Hey, you were the one who said I wasn't one for following rules. I'm just proving u right, Beale."

"Thank you though", Chloe says softly, hoping her sincerity comes through in her words. "I had a really great time. This was definitely the best date I've ever been on. I think you may have just earned yourself that second date. But I get to plan the next one!"

"We'll see. I don't think you can beat tonight, Beale", Beca quips back confidently.

"We'll see…." Chloe whispers, leaning in to brush her lips against Beca's in a gracious goodnight kiss.

Beca's the first to pull away, her eyes fluttering open as if she'd just woken up from a long nap.

"Goodnight, Chloe", she smiles softly at the gorgeous girl in front of her, truly thankful for the night they just shared.

"Night, Becs."

XXX

Thanks for reading!

Just a quick side note. Let me know if you guys like such long chapters, or if you would prefer shorter ones :)


	7. Chapter 7

_Hello again!_

 _First off, sorry this took so long to post, I had zero motivation to write this chapter. It's more of a filler, but it is a necessary evil. But fear not, next chapter will be better and likely a lot longer._

 _Also, I would like to throw a huge thanks out to my new beta, AgentVector! So there should no longer be any "u's" in here because I was too lazy to read the chapter over._

 _As always, f/f and review! I love to hear from you , prompts/suggestions are welcome...not even just for this story! I'm open anything._

 _P.S. If you haven't already, go check out my new fic Red Hot!_

 **Chapter 7**

The next morning Beca has to be at the radio station bright and early. Apparently that's just one of the joys of being an intern: opening the damn place while your manager gets to sleep in. _God, she doesn't even wake up this early for school._

For the first few hours of her shift it's just her, stacking CD's and working on her mixes while the pre-set playlist for the morning runs in the background. She's honestly not sure what the point of her being there is, the music is pre-set for God's sake. Plus, it's not like any college kids are _actually_ awake and listening to the station at 8:30 in the morning. But whatever, maybe if she sticks it out long enough Luke will finally cave and play some of her stuff on the air.

Its 10am when Jesse finally shows up for his shift, skipping through the door and humming a happy tune to himself.

Beca doesn't even notice her friend coming through the door, eyes fixed on her computer screen and headphones firmly planted over her ears as she works on her latest mix.

Never missing an opportunity to mess with his little friend, Jesse quietly stalks up behind Beca, grabbing her left earphone from it's snug spot and screeching in her ear, "Becaw!"

"Motherfu—" Beca jumps, recoiling away from the intruder as she rubs at her throbbing eardrum. "Dude, you fucking suck", she grumbles to Jesse, who leans on the table next to Beca with an amused grin.

The boy shrugs his backpack off, throwing it on the floor under the table, as he shifts to get more comfortable in his position perched atop the wooden table. "Sooo, how did the date go?" he asks eagerly, patting his hands repeatedly on his thighs like an impatient toddler.

Beca softens, because as annoying as Jesse can be, he did _really_ help her out in planning the best date ever for Chloe. The least she could do is indulge his questions.

"I think it went pretty well," she says back, though keeping her eyes locked on her computer screen. "She even said she wants to go out again," Beca cracks a small smile, more to herself than to Jesse, "So that's good right?"

"Aw Bec!" Jesse coos. "I feel like a mama bird who just saw her baby bird learn to fly. Except this is bigger than that, because flying is in a bird's nature! This… _this_ is huge Beca. Oh my God, I think I might cry," the boy gushes.

"Okay, you blew it. I'm done with this conversation now," Beca replies dryly, spinning her chair back to her mix.

Jesse's not done with the conversation though. He did help plan the damn thing after all…he needs details!

Grabbing the back of her chair, Jesse spins the girl back around so she's now staring directly into his big brown eyes. "Did you kiss?" he inquires with a cheeky smile, but there is a distinct softness to his tone.

Beca just shoots the boy a dry glare and turns back to her laptop, refusing to acknowledge his question. She said she'd answer his questions about the date, she didn't agree to eighth grade slumber party gossip. She didn't even do that when she was actually in eighth grade.

"Oh my God, you totally did!"

"Dude, we've kissed before. That's not a new development," Beca replies with a sideways glance. "Are you finally starting to lose it?" she teases.

Jesse just rolls his eyes at his friend's classic mocking. "Did you do more than just kiss…?"

"No. You told me to drop her off at her place and then leave like a gentleman…or gentlewoman? Whatever. So that's what I did" Beca states very matter of factly. "Plus, I'm trying to do this right, okay? Sex on the first date doesn't exactly scream 'serious', ya know?" she adds more softly, clearly uncomfortable with such a revelation.

That's all it takes for Jesse to melt. "Okay, are you trying to make me cry right now?"

Beca whacks him lightly, trying to divert from the boys sentimental gushing. "Okay, okay, okay. Sorry." He grumbles, rubbing his freshly stricken arm. "But seriously Bec, that is very mature of you. I'm proud of you for going outside of your comfort zone. I'm sure it's not easy", he adds with a compassionate smile. He knows that even if she doesn't acknowledge his comment, it means a lot to her and it's exactly what she needs to hear.

"Thanks, I guess," she mumbles back. _Yep, classic Beca._

"So, does Chloe know about your tattoo?", Jesse asks tentatively.

"No," she sighs, "and I thought it wouldn't be an issue. But now I feel like she deserves to know. I just don't want to blow this…Even if it is only temporary, I don't want this to end just yet."

"Has she said anything about hers at all? Because it it's some guy name Dave or something—sorry, or girl name Danielle—its not like she's expecting this to be forever either."

"No, she hasn't said anything about it. That's kind of heavy first date material though, don't ya think? It's like announcing what your kid's names should be or something; it's just too much. But she has one," Beca slumps in her chair, "I saw a piece of it when she ambushed me in the shower. I don't know what it says, but its definitely there. Of course she has one, she's Chloe freaking Beale for God's sake."

"I'm sorry Becs", Jesse says sympathetically, reaching over to place a soothing hand to his friend's shoulder.

"Its whatever", Beca says dismissively. "I'll just bite my tongue for a bit longer. "Now", she says clapping her hands together in mock enthusiasm, "we have a shit load of CD's to stack."

XXX

Beca goes straight to Bella's rehearsal from the station, bursting through the auditorium doors with only seconds to spare.

"Well now that Beca has so kindly decided to join us", Aubrey bites out, throwing a judgmental glare at the out-of-breath brunette, "we can _finally_ begin."

"Aubrey…" Chloe warns lightly, jumping in as peace keeper.

"Fine, let's just start", the blonde huffs, turning back to the rest of the group. "We are going to start with some vocal warm-ups, scales, and then finish with some arpeggios before we run through our routine in full. Any questions?"

"Yeah, uhm…you said something about spaghettios?" Amy jumps in.

" _Arpeggios_ , Amy. God help me," Aubrey rolls her eyes in aggravation, motioning for Chloe to step in before she blows her stack.

"Okay, girls," Chloe quickly jumps in, "Grab a partner and let's get started on some warm ups," she adds with a cheery clap of her hands.

"No, seriously Red, when's lunch? Cuz this bitch has gots to eat. I'm feeding a joey in this pouch," Amy interjects, with swift slap to her stomach.

"I can swallow an entire apple whole," Lily whispers too quietly for anyone to actually hear her, earning a chorus of "huh's" and "what's" from the rest of the girls.

"Enough! We don't have time for this nonsense. We have our first performance in a week! We need to get to work _now_!" Aubrey interjects, running her hands through her hair in frustration.

"Shh. It's okay, Bree. Just breathe," Stacie steps up to run a soothing hand across her girlfriends back.

"God is testing me, Stace", the blonde grumbles, turning to bury her face in her girlfriend's shoulder.

"You heard her, girl's," Chloe says, taking over for the blonde in a desperate attempt to relieve some of her stress. "Let's get going!"

From that point on, rehearsal is business as usual: singing, dancing, Aubrey yelling, Amy's usual antics, and Chloe and Beca's subtle—not too subtle—flirting.

"Alight. I think that's enough for today", Aubrey announces, finally signaling an end to their seemingly endless practice. While Chloe and Stacie appear completely unfazed by the strenuous rehearsal, the other girls drop in a series of grunts and groans, eager to run—or rather, crawl—home and flop into bed.

Tiredly grabbing her own bag from the floor, Beca gingerly approaches Aubrey, who's currently gathering her own belongings whilst mumbling to herself about the utter incompetence of this year's Bella's. "Hey Aubrey, are you planning on having us perform the same routine you guys did last year all this season too?" Beca asks with caution.

Ignoring the small brunette altogether, Aubrey simply turns to the rest of the Bella's and clears her throat to gain everyone's attention. "Alright ladies, don't forget to pick up your performance schedules and uniforms from the front. We have our first gig next week at Sigma Beta Theta's annual Fall Mixer. I expect you all to be prepared", Aubrey ends with a stern glare.

"Aubrey?" Beca tries again. "Listen, I know we're going with your routine for SBT, but don't you think we would be better off trying something new for Regionals?"

At this point, the only ones left in the auditorium are Aubrey, Beca, Chloe and Stacie, the other girl's having been too exhausted to stick around for another Aubrey/Beca face off.

"You know, maybe Beca's right Aubrey," Chloe chimes in, treading carefully as to not rock the boat with Aubrey further. Beca was doing a great job of that all on her own. "Beca makes these amazing mixes. Maybe we could try one of tho—"

"No Chloe", the blonde bites back with such ferocity that Chloe actually has to take a step back from her friend. "We are going with the routine I have planned, and we are going to win with it. End of story," Aubrey forcefully shoves a stack of sheet music into her bag and throws the strap over her shoulder with a huff.

Chloe sends Beca a sympathetic look. Aubrey is captain after all, what she says goes.

Fearing for all all out bitch brawl, Stacie steps up to position herself between her girlfriend and an equally stubborn Beca. "Okay, it was just a suggestion, Bree. You are captain, it's your decision. Beca was just trying to help."

"Whatever. You can do whatever you want, Aubrey. It's not like I give a flying fuck anyways," Beca snaps, turning to storm out of the auditorium. "I'll text you later," she says stopping for a moment to tell Chloe in a much softer tone. Chloe nods in acknowledgment, aware that Beca needs her space right now, but equally obligated to stay and support Aubrey.

Scoffing as the little brunette stops out of the room, Aubrey turns to Chloe with a poignant glare. "We had better have our shit together for SBT."

"Don't worry. I'm sure we'll be aca-awesome," Chloe says, playfully bumping her shoulder with Aubrey's, secretly praying her words hold true.

XXX

Chloe couldn't have been any more wrong about SBT if she had tried.

Their performance was a complete and utter disaster. They were off key, out of sync, and a total embarrassment to the formerly pristine—disregarding puke-gate—Bella's name. In fact, they were so out of sync that even Chloe and Stacie—who had performed and practiced this routine dozens of times since last year's ICCA's—were even struggling to keep up with their respective parts.

It was obvious to all watching that this bunch of misfits was nowhere near competition ready, with one guy even referring to the bunch as a "barnyard explosion"—and to be honest, a chorus of farm animals probably would have sounded better than the Bella's terrible performance.

It ultimately ended with the Bella's being shooed off before they could even finish their first song, Aubrey groveling for a second chance, and Amy refusing to leave the stage until she had a proper chance to demonstrate her 'vocal magic'.

The girls followed Aubrey's lead, having finally given up on her desperate pleas, as she walked the rest of the Bella's away from the party, with heads hung low and enough embarrassment to last a lifetime.

Beca could see Stacie at the front of the line, whispering soothing words in Aubrey's ear as the group walked out. The blonde seemed to be having none of it, instead shrugging off the brunette's calming words and reassuring hand with tensed shoulders and a clenched jaw.

When the group reached the edge of the frat house's walk, Aubrey—having decided she'd held her tongue long enough—came to an abrupt stop, turning on her heal to look over the rest of the Bella's in aggravation. "I hope you all remember the way you feel right now so you will _never_ want to feel this way again," she barked. "And Cloe," she said, shifting her attention to her redheaded co-captain, "your voice didn't sound Aguilerian at all."

Chloe however seemed to be elsewhere, staring off into distance and she fumbling with her fingers in front of her.

Beca had noticed Chloe was off during the performance—as well as during the past few practices to be honest—lacking her usual enthusiasm and often failing to hit her notes properly. But up until this point, Beca had simply chalked it up to the groups overall lack of organization and cohesiveness mixed with possible other school obligations. They were in college after all…the Bella's weren't the only thing on everyone's minds—well, except for Aubrey maybe.

"Chloe. For serious! What is wrong with you?"

"I HAVE NODES!" the redhead cried, her usually vibrant blue eyes now swimming with anguish, as she fights back tears.

Chloe looked truly heartbroken, and it broke Beca's heart just as much to see the older girl so full of fear and sadness. And even worse, she had no idea what to do to help…she didn't even know what nodes were for that matter.

"What? Oh my God…" Aubrey gasps, stumbling slightly, only for Stacie to quickly grab onto her waist to keep the blonde from collapsing completely.

"What are nodes?" Beca asks, her voice laced with concern.

"Vocal nodules!" Aubrey says as if it's the most obvious thing in the world. "The rubbing together of your vocal cords at above-average rates without proper lubrication."

"They sit on your windpipe and crush your dreams," Chloe chokes out, tears threatening to spill out at any moment.

"Isn't that painful? Why would you keep performing?" Beca adds, pushing out from the rest of the Bella's.

"Because I love to sing," Chloe says sadly.

"It's like when my lady doctor told me not to have sex for six weeks and I did it anyway," Stacie offers casually.

"You should really listen to your doctor," Amy advises with a raised brow.

"Wait", Aubrey jumps in, turning to look at her girlfriend. "When was this?" she asks hysterically.

"Don't worry about it babe. I pushed through," Stacie pats Aubrey lightly on the back, brushing off her girlfriend's panic.

"I bet you did," Cynthia Rose cheers from behind Amy, earning a round of giggles from the rest of the girls.

"Alright, that's enough!" the blonde interjects. God it's like she's dealing with a bunch of toddlers. "In the midst of this tragedy", she motions to a forlorn Chloe, "I think we all just need to take some time to cool off and refocus. We will regroup at our next rehearsal. Okay? Okay." When she's finished with her speech, Aubrey allows Stacie to latch onto her hand and steer her off in the direction of her apartment, the other Bella's eventually following suite too and dispersing from the lawn, leaving Beca alone with a despondent looking Chloe.

Never having been good with comforting others, Beca awkwardly ambles up beside Chloe, debating whether on not she too should leave. Deciding against that, she finally settles for a soothing hand on the older girl's back. Beca knows she's made the right decision when Chloe doesn't retreat or stiffen under her touch, instead crumbling further into the smaller girl's embrace, clearly desperate for _some_ kind of comfort. She did just drop a pretty big bombshell on the entire Bella's group, only for the rest of the girls to just up and leave. Regardless of their itnentions, they still left. So now it's only right that Beca be there for Chloe…Beca _wants_ to be there for Chloe.

"Do you uhm…want to go grab a coffee or something?" Beca asks tentatively, feeling the redhead nod against her.

When Chloe pulls back, Beca can see a stray tear trickling down from the redhead's crystal eyes, and her stomach drops all over again. _Shit, she's already in way too deep_.

XXX

The two stopped at a coffee shop just around the corner from the SBT house, nestling themselves in a quiet booth at the back away from the other patrons.

Beca had ordered a straight black coffee, while Chloe nursed a cup of herbal tea. "It's good for the throat", she had said meekly, when Beca shot her a disgusted look over her order.

"So nodes huh…" Beca offered, unsure of how to brace the subject.

"Yeah, I just found out."

"…and they hurt?"

"Yeah," Chloe sighs. "But really only when I sing. They make it hard to hit the high notes or hold notes for a long time. Sometimes their sore at the end of the day from just talking, but its mostly a singing thing", she said blowing on her tea.

"So what does that mean for you and the Bella's? Are you going to have to quit? Because I really don't know if I can survive the rest of the season with Aubrey if you're not there to body block," the brunette smirks, hoping some sarcasm will lighten the mood.

"No," Chloe says adamantly. "No way. I'm willing to suffer through a little pain to be a Bella. No. That's not an option."

Beca can see the determination in the redhead's eyes. She knows how much the Bella's means to Chloe, she did barge into Beca's shower naked to simply recruit her to the group. But this is something more than just Chloe's love of singing. Chloe looks as if she would rather die than so much as consider quitting the Bella's…and Beca's not quite sure why.

"If it hurts so much though, why would you keep performing?"

"I love the Bella's. I love to sing," she shrugs simply. "…I'm good at it," she whispers into her mug."

"Chloe…" Beca sighs sympathetically. _So that's what this is about._

Beca happens to know a thing or two about feeling like you don't belong; unsure of where you fit in the world. And Chloe's look right now screams just that.

"The Bella's is like home for me. If I'm not a Bella, I don't know who I am. I'm just not willing to give that up," the usually so chipper girl says sadly.

"Is there anything you can do…you know, besides that God awful crap you call tea?" Beca jokes lightly.

Chloe's lips curve up into a soft smile, appreciative of the smaller girl's concern—as lighthearted as it may be. "Vocal rest is the main one, but _that's_ not going to happen with Regionals coming up. The doctor said I could try antibiotics and herbal remedies, but the only way to really get rid of them is with surgery."

"So do that then," Beca perks up, jostling her cup too fast and spilling hot coffee on her hand. "Shit!" she cursed, waving her hand frantically in an attempt to sooth the stinging burn.

"Its not that simple," Chloe reaches across the table to help Beca wipe up the split liquid. "Once you do it, there's no going back. Surgery could do even more damage to my vocal range, and then I'd never be able to sing the same again."

"Well for the record, I'd still like you even if you couldn't sing at all", Beca offered, leaning back to toss the wet napkins into a nearby trash can. "In fact, it might even make you more tolerable", the brunette taunted, earning her a swift kick in the shin from under the table.

"I would be like a real life Ariel then," Chloe mused.

"Oh yeah? Then what does that make me, Prince Eric?", Beca scoffed, downing some more of her drink.

"No, you're more of a Sebastian; little and crabby," Chloe giggles, ignoring Beca's deadly glare. "Ooh! I know what we're going as for Halloween!" the redhead wiggles in her seat.

"Do it and die, Beale."

XXX

After downing their bodyweights in caffeine, Chloe and Beca walk hand-in-hand back to Beca's dorm. Chloe's apartment is on the exact opposite side of campus from the coffee shop they had stopped in, so it wasn't an inconvenience to walk the younger girl back—she would be passing Baker Hall anyways. Plus, the extra time with the brunette was always appreciated.

By now it's almost dinner time—the SBT party having been a mid-day barbeque—so Beca's pretty eager at this point to just get back to her room, order some take out, and flop in bed for the remainder of the evening. _It's been a damn long day_.

What she wasn't expecting though, was to walk into her room with Chloe in tow and see another person sitting patiently on her bed waiting for her.

"Mom…what are you doing here?"


	8. Chapter 8

_Hello lovelies!_

 _Sorry this took so long, it was being edited, plus I wanted to get the next chapter to be done before I posted this one._

 _Thanks for all the support so far...13,000 readers! Holy Crap!_

 _As always, prompts are welcome, don't forget to f/f, and reviews truly are the best :)_

 **Chapter 8**

"Mom…what are you doing here?"

Standing from her position on the bed, Jill walks over to give Beca a small hug. The younger brunette stands dumbfounded, bringing her arms up to awkwardly hug her mother back. "I finally got a few days off work, so I thought I'd come down and visit you. Make sure you were still alive and all."

"I text you like once a week mom", Beca rolls her eyes. "Of course I'm still alive. How did you even get in here?"

"Still," Jill insists. "I missed helping you move in and I wanted to see where my only child is living. Maybe get you to give me a tour of the campus or something. And your roommate let me in earlier…strange girl," Jill says with a shake of her head.

Chloe giggles at that, from her position behind Beca, alerting Jill to her presence.

"Oh I'm sorry. I'm being rude," Jill realizes, pushing Beca aside and extending a friendly hand to the other girl. "I'm Jill, Beca's mom."

"Hi," Chloe chirps back, shaking Jill's hand kindly. "I'm Chloe, Beca's friend." Beca exhales an internal sigh of relief at that. Its not that she doesn't want her mom to know she and Chloe are...together? Dating? Whatever. It's just she doesn't need _that_ to be the first thing out of Chloe's mouth to her mom. "We're in the Bella's together," Chloe adds with a face-splitting grin.

"Oh yes. I was surprised to hear Beca had joined an acapella group."

"We can thank dad for that," Beca grumbles under her breathe.

"Regardless, I'm glad to hear she's making some friends," Jill smiles pleasantly at Chloe.

"Mom," Beca warns, not needing her mom to embarrass her right now.

"What? This ball of sunshine? How could she not," Chloe teases, bumping shoulders with the grumbling girl.

"Great, now there's two of you tag teaming me," Beca huffed in exasperation.

Chloe giggles. "Alright. Well, it was really nice meeting you", she tells Jill, "I'll leave you guys be. I'll see you at practice?" she nods to Beca, who returns the gesture.

"Wait, sweetheart", Jill interrupts, stopping Chloe from leaving. "I was just going to see if Beca wanted to go grab some dinner. Why don't you come with us? I already know the only way I'm going to find anything out about Beca's time here is from someone _other_ than Beca," the older woman jokes.

Chloe's happy to accept Jill's offer right way, but she knows Beca might want some time alone with her mom…. or even just some time away from Chloe. They had just spent the better part of the day together.

So Chloe spares a quick look to Beca over Jill's shoulder, looking for some sort of sign of approval…or anything to tell her it's safe to proceed. Beca just shoots Chloe a look that simply states, "there's really no getting out of this."

"Okay. Yes. Thank you," the redhead replies politely.

"Do you want to stop back at your place on the way to change?" Beca asks. Chloe hadn't even thought of that, but glancing down at her current outfit, it was clear that a change was definitely going to be necessary. They were both still wearing their Bella's uniforms, and looked more like flight attendants than college students—or just regular human beings—at the moment.

"I can just borrow something of yours, if that's okay?"

"Uhm yeah…sure," Beca stumbles over her words, the thought of Chloe wearing her clothes having a strange effect on her. She has to repeatedly lick her lips just to keep her mouth from going dry at the thought.

"Okay. I'll go wait for you two down in the lounge," Jill informs, with a throw of her thumb.

"Yeah, okay. Thanks mom," Beca says, suddenly snapped back down to reality.

Once Jill's gone, Chloe moves to perch herself on Beca's bed, gently running her hands along whatever of the brunette's belonging's are within reach. "Your mom seems nice," she says, looking up at the younger girl, who's currently rummaging through her wardrobe for something to wear. "And I was right about you looking like her."

"Yeah, she's not that bad. Just a little embarrassing sometimes," Beca says into the closet, her voice coming out slightly muffled.

"Aren't they all," Chloe pokes. "It's nice of her to come down here though", she adds sincerely, moving to go through a stack of shirts sitting on Beca's end table.

"Yeah. She doesn't get a lot of time off of work so…" Beca says quietly.

There's a beat of silence before Chloe asks, "Can I borrow this?", holding up one of Beca's shirts.

Beca turns from her position in the closet to see that Chloe's holding one of her t-shirts. "Yeah. I think there's some leggings or shorts in there", she points to a drawer in her dresser. "I don't think my jeans will fit you."

While Chloe sorts through her options, Beca grabs a change of clothes for herself, sticking with her trusted jeans and plaid. Holding her clothes awkwardly, Beca shifts uncomfortably, trying to figure out how to best go about this. "Uhm…I'm just going to go change in the bathroom…I'll be right back."

Finally settling on a pair of shorts that look like they'll fit her, Chloe stands up to look at Beca with a funny expression. "You can change here. It's nothing I haven't seen before," she smiles, going to pull her hair from it's bun. But Beca doesn't say anything, she just looks at Chloe with a worried expression, her eyes frantic with anxiety. "I won't look. Don't worry," Chloe adds playfully, picking up on Beca's hesitation, but not wanting to make a big deal of the issue.

"Uhm yeah…yeah, okay."

Beca uses the door of her wardrobe to shield her while she changes, careful to ensure Chloe can't see her naked form. Chloe on the other hand, just drops her clothes in the middle of the room—indifferent to the possibility of Kimmy Jin walking in at any time—and shimmies into her change of clothes.

After a sufficient amount of time has passed, Beca peers out from behind the door, looking up to the ceiling just in case Chloe isn't done changing yet. "Decent?"

"Yes, silly. Let go!" the redhead laughs, placing her Bella's uniform neatly on Beca's bed.

The girls walk down to the main lounge and find Jill patiently waiting for them on one of the benches. She perks up when she spots the pair approaching her. "Good to go?" she asks.

"Yep."

Jill drives the three of them to a nearby Italian restaurant, where they get seating at a comfortable booth by the window. Turns out if you have a car, there are actual some decent places to eat in Barden.

"So Chloe, you and Beca are in the Bella's together?" Jill asks, thinking that's probably a safe spot to start their conversation.

"Yep! I may or may not be the reason Beca joined," the redhead says smugly.

"Oh?"

"She ambushed me in the showers and forced me to sing for her," Beca supplies dryly at Jill's obvious confusion. "She's lucky I didn't report her."

Chloe shrugs off Beca's comment with a flick of her hand. "Whatever. I think you should be _thanking_ me. Without me, you wouldn't have joined the group, and then what would you have done?"

"Literally anything else."

"So how is it going so far? Do you guys perform for the school or for competitions…?" Jill asks, breaking up Beca and Chloe's little banter.

"We perform mostly in competition. There's a rule about not being allowed to perform for pay outside of Barden, so that kind of limits our options. But we did just have a…performance of sorts earlier today," Chloe says, scrunching her nose in recollection of the day's earlier events.

Jill quirks an expectant eyebrow, wondering why the redhead had stopped to mull over the word 'performance'.

"We got booed off the stage before we could even finish the first song mom," Beca adds, taking a sip of her water.

"It was our first performance. There's bound to be a few kinks in the chain," Chloe defends, clearly still holding out hope for their group of misfits.

"Yeah, like our song choice, outfits and choreography?" Beca shoots sarcastically. Chloe just shakes her head refusing to have any of Beca's negativity and diverts her attention back to Jill on the opposite side of the table.

"Well, Beca's good with music. Why don't you put together one of your mixes for it sweetheart?" Jill asks her daughter.

"Because the leader of the group is an aca-nazi," the younger girl replies monotonously.

"I'm sorry, an aca-what?" Jill asks, leaning in to see if she misheard her daughter.

"Aubrey's a little old fashioned. She and Beca haven't exactly hit it off yet, but I'm sure they will," Chloe tells Jill, being the eternal optimist she is. "Once she hears your stuff, I'm sure she'll change her mind. Then we'd really have a shot at beating the Treblemakers," Chloe says to the other brunette sitting next to her.

Before Beca can protest, Jill jumps in, "Is that another group?"

"Yeah. Jesse's in it," Beca tells her mom.

"How is Mr. Swanson?" Jill chuckles lightly. "Do you guys get to hang out much?"

"He's good. As annoying as ever. We don't have any classes together, but we're both doing that internship I told you about, so I see him at least three times a week, regardless of if I want to or not."

Jill shakes her head in amusement. Beca would never outright admit how much she treasures her friendship with Jesse, but Jill knows.

"And how are your classes going. Your dad emailed me a little bit ago to say you had been skipping your intro to philosophy class?"

"Figures," Beca rolls her eyes at her father's lack of boundaries. "Yeah…well, Dad can suck it."

"Beca," Jill warns softly, but sternly. In truth, the older woman didn't care much for the man herself—what with their divorce and all—but she was trying to raise her daughter with at least some semblance of manners. "Have you seen him much?" she wonders.

"Just here and there around campus. He wanted me to go for Sunday dinner with him and the stepmonster last week, but fuck that."

Realizing she wasn't getting anywhere on the topic, Jill shifts her focus to Chloe instead, who had been sitting quietly next to Beca. "So Chloe, what are you studying?"

"I'm majoring in human development and minoring in music therapy," the redhead tells the older woman with a smile.

"Wow."

"I want to be a teacher. Plus, I love music. So it works out pretty well," Chloe shrugs.

Jill went on to ask Chloe about her family, learning that her dad had been a firefighter for a number of years before switching to work as a safety inspector for the government, deciding after Chloe's second birthday that it was time to find a safer job. They talked about her childhood in Florida and her plans for graduation, before shifting to Beca and her time at Barden so far.

Once they finished their meals, Jill insisted they order dessert. Something about making sure Beca was sufficiently fed before going back to Raman Noodles and Kraft Dinner. Beca caves and orders a slice of chocolate cake, while Jill settles for some sort of fruit tart. Chloe politely declines Jill's offer of dessert, instead opting for a cup of tea.

Hearing Chloe's order, Beca leans in to ask quietly, "is your throat okay?"

Chloe nods back with a tight lipped smile. In truth, her throat was sore, but it wasn't so bad that she couldn't stay and enjoy the rest of the meal. It had just been a long day, what with their performance and all their dinner conversation, her voice was just worn out.

Jill didn't miss the concerned whisper of her daughter, or the way Beca's eyes nervously scanned Chloe's face for any sign she was uncomfortable. She didn't know what Beca was talking about, but it seemed private so she let it be, not asking about it or showing any sign that she had even overheard Beca's comment.

When they were finished with their meal, Jill drove the girls back, stopping to drop Chloe off first, who promised to trade Beca's clothes back for her Bella's stuff the next day, and delivered a grateful thanks to Jill for dinner. Jill then drove on to drop Beca back at her dorm for the night.

When they pull up to Baker Hall, Jill turns off the car and swivels in her seat to look at her daughter with an expression that could only be defined as a classic-worried-mother-look.

"So other than your dad forcing you to join a club…is it really going okay?" Jill asks honestly. "Because I know Warren gave you this whole ultimatum, but if it's really terrible, you can leave. I'm sure I could find a way to swing it," she says softly, her eyes sympathetic and lips twitching nervously.

"It's fine mom. It's only for a year," Beca replies, doing her best to sound as convincing as possible. She knows her mom is going to worry regardless, but she doesn't need her to have the extra stress.

"Okay," Jill exhales. "…so Chloe seems nice," she states with an air of question.

"Yeah…?" Beca drawls, furrowing her eyebrows in confusion.

"What's going on between you two?" Jill probes further.

"She's in the Bella's with me. We're friends."

"I'm not blind, Beca. I know you put up this wall to the rest of the world. But I'm your mom, I can see through the cracks. There is obviously something going on between you two."

"We've been out a few times," Beca finally cracks.

"So your dating?"

"Yeah…? I guess? I don't know. I guess _technically_ we're dating. I mean we _have_ been on a date. But I don't know if we're like a couple or anything yet," the younger girl says, fidgeting with her hands in her lap.

"Yet? So you want her to be your girlfriend?" Jill asks slowly, careful not to spook Beca back into her shell.

"…she's different. I don't know why, but she is. I like her," Beca exhales, leaning her head back in her seat.

"I'm glad you've found someone who makes you happy. She seems like a very nice girl. I like her. She balances you out," Jill smiles, offering a reassuring pat to Beca's thigh.

Beca deflates a little, turning her head to stare out her window and into the dark. "It doesn't really matter mom. You and I both know that no matter how much I like her, or how well we work together, its not going to last."

"Beca," Jill says with a little more bite, but earning no response from the younger girl. Jill needs Beca to really hear her out right now, so she reaches over to grab Beca's chin, turning her daughter's head gently so that she's facing her. Jill leaning forward so that she's staring directly into her daughter's navy blue eyes, now laced with sadness and anguish. "Just because you don't have a tattoo doesn't mean you're not entitled to love. You don't have to be alone forever", Jill states firmly.

Beca sucks her bottom lip in, anxiously gnawing on the soft skin. "I like her. And even though I know this is going to have to end eventually, I guess I just wanted to see what it would be like, ya know? Get to experience it at least once in my life," she ends quietly.

"Just be open Beca. I mean look at me for Gods sake, those things aren't ironclad."

Beca gives her a small, forced smile. The corners of her mouth twitching up slightly, though her eyes showing nothing but doubt.

"Okay, well its getting pretty late, and I know you've had a long day. I'm staying over at the Best Western in case you need anything. I'll touch point with you in the morning, okay?"

"Night mom."

XXX

When Beca gets back up to her room, she's disappointed to seethat Kimmy Jin is actually there. Thankfully though, she's alone, her hoard of Asians residing somewhere else for the night. Kimmy Jin doesn't acknowledge Beca's presence, instead shooting her a quick glare before climbing into her bed and turning to face the wall.

Beca grabs her pajamas and bag of toiletries, before making her way over to the bathroom to get ready for bed.

When she gets back, she tosses her clothes aside and climbs into her own bed, pulling her phone out to send Chloe a quick text before she goes to sleep. It's become somewhat of a routine for the two.

 **[Beca]: Thanks for coming tonight. You really didn't have to.**

Beca can't help but smile like a damn fool when she sees Chloe respond almost instantly. She's glad the lights are out so that Kimmy Jin can't see her smile practically bursting from her face, not that the other girl really cares…but still.

 **[Chloe]: Like your mom was going to let me off, yeah right B**

 **[Beca]: She says she likes you**

 **[Chloe]: She's really sweet Bec. You're lucky to have her.**

 **[Beca]: Thanks…**

 **[Chloe]: Is she staying for the weekend?**

 **[Beca]: Just until tomorrow afternoon. She has work on Sunday.**

 **[Chloe]: That's still nice though. Are you going to take her around campus?**

 **[Beca]: God lets hope not. She wants to see Jesse, so we'll probs just do something with him. You can come if you want. Get another free meal ;)**

 **[Chloe]: That's ok, you spend the day with your mom :)** **I'll be here, waiting when you get done…your clothes in hand :P**

 **[Beca]: Right, because that doesn't sound creepy AT ALL**

 **[Chloe]: I was trying to be nice! You Goober.**

 **[Beca]: Goober? What are you, five?**

 **[Chloe]: Meanie! I'm going to bed now.**

XXX

True to her word, Beca and Jill spend the day with Jesse in tow. They walk around Old Downtown Barden for a bit, stopping in the occasional shop for Jill to buy something or for her to coerce Beca into trying something on. It doesn't help that she has Jesse there to egg Jill on. They grab lunch in a small café, where Jesse ducks out after to give the two women some time alone together. Jill and Beca spend the afternoon wandering through Barden's museum of art. It's tiny and Beca's pretty sure the "art" was actually made by fifth graders and not professionals, but her mom seems happy enough to just wander the place and make small talk with her, so she goes along with it. Plus, the place has a pretty extensive garden out back for their outdoor sculpture, so the duo spend a good portion of the afternoon wandering the trails and talking. It's better than a tour of the campus, so Beca keeps her complaints to a minimum.

They actually have a pretty enjoyable day together, and by the end, Beca's sad to see her mom go. She's only been gone a month or so, but until her mom showed up, she'd forgotten how much she'd missed her. Sure, she wasn't around a lot when Beca was home, but she was still there.

They part with a hug and Jill repeats her advice to Beca from the previous night, urging her daughter to open up and let love in.

Beca just nods obediently and says she'll try. It's what her mom wants to hear, so she says it, despite feeling like it wont matter in the end.

XXX

Once Jill's gone, Beca makes her way back up to her room, shooting a text to Chloe as she goes asking if she wants to come over for a bit. Kimmy Jin is out yet again, so the two of them would have the place to themselves. It's a Saturday, so she's pretty sure Aubrey is at her and Chloe's shared apartment, and because she really doesn't feel like fighting with the blonde right now, she asks Chloe over to her room instead.

Chloe replies just as Beca's entering her room, saying she was just finishing up at the library and is now on her way and has Beca's clothes in her bag. She then gets another text from Chloe right after the first asking if Beca wants her to bring food. Of course Beca's not going to turn down food, so they settle on Chinese, Chloe offering to grab it on her way over.

15 minutes later, and Chloe's at Beca's door, bag slung around her shoulders, takeout in hand, and a warm smile on her face.

They eat on Beca's bed, stealing bites from the other's food as they talk. The whole thing is very comfortable; it's something Beca didn't know she was craving until now…and now she doesn't want to let it go.

When they're done eating, Beca grabs their boxes and chucks them into a trash bin on the the other side of the room. She then walks back and quickly resumes her former position on the bed.

Chloe shifts on the duvet and fluffs the pillow behind her a bit, allowing herself to get more comfortable in her spot.

"So I've been meaning to ask you something," Chloe says, and immediately Beca's heart stops. _Here it comes. This is the moment everything comes crumbling down. The inevitab_ —"is your dad's soulmate your mom or the so called stepmonster?" _Okay, NOT what Beca was expecting._

Beca has to take a second to shake those thoughts from her head before she speaks. "Uhm…My mom…I don't know; I guess it just didn't work out. I feel like the only reason they were ever together in the first place was because of their marks. They kind of used that as a crutch. They really didn't have that much in common…and they never really did that much with each other."

"What about Sheila?" Chloe asks.

"Her first husband died," Beca says plainly.

"Oh," the redhead says in surprise.

"She may have killed him. I don't know," Beca jokes, with a nonchalant throw her hand.

"Beca!" Chloe chastises, shoving the brunette a little on the bed.

"He was loaded. I wouldn't put it past her."

Chloe giggles a little, trying her best to keep a straight face and not indulge Beca's comment. "So how did your dad and she get together?"

"They met on one of those dating sites for people who've lost a soulmate," Beca scrunches her nose in disgust. She may not have soulmate herself, but even that seems pretty pathetic—searching online for hours on end, only to end up playing second fiddle to anyone you meet. She already feels pretty worthless; she doesn't need to live the rest of her life in someone else's shadow.

"I'm pretty sure he was scouting for a while before he actually left…but he claims otherwise," Beca snaps back, hiding her emotions behind an easy tone.

Realizing that maybe this wasn't a good subject to bring up, Chloe jumps topics.

"So, I've been thinking about the surgery more…" she says unsurely, playing with a loose strand on the blanket.

"Oh yeah?"

"Don't tell anyone. But I think once we finish, I'm going to get them removed," Chloe looks up at Beca from under her eyelashes.

"Well first off, I'm not going to tell anyone. That's not my business. But can I ask what made you change your mind? I mean yesterday you were pretty dead set against the idea."

"I talked to my mom for a bit on the phone this morning. It just doesn't make sense to live in pain. I'll suffer through while the Bella's is still on, but once we're done, I'll have them removed. I mean I am graduating this year. It's not like I'm going to be making a career out of acappella," she says, still looking down. "And I guess it'll force me to move on from the Bella's," she adds softly.

Beca doesn't really know what to say. She thinks back to what she would have wanted her parents-or anyone for that matter—to have said when she told them about her music. Instead of belittling her passion all she wanted was for someone to acknowledge it. "That's not an easy decision to make. I'm proud of you", she says earnestly.

Chloe looks up from where she was pulling at the loose strand, her eyes flooded with appreciation, because clearly that's all she needed to hear.

"Does Aubrey know about this…?" Beca asks tentatively.

"No," Chloe sighs. "She's already got so much to stress over, I don't want to upset her and add to all that. I'll tell her when it's time." The redhead shifts in her seat before deciding to change the topic altogether. "On the plus side, I played one of your mixes this morning and she seemed to like it. She didn't know it was you, but we'll work our way up to that."

"Good luck with that," Beca smirks.

"Don't worry, I'm sure we'll find a way to convince her. She's just so set on proving that we can win with last year's routine she wont even hear anything else. It's nothing personal against you."

"Yeah I'm not so sure about that one," the brunette scoffs, "But you're her co-captain, don't you get a say?"

"I'm still only second in command. I need to respect her decisions. But that doesn't mean I can't try and persuade her a little. Stacie said she'd work on her too."

"Yeah, but that could mean something _completely_ different," Beca says with a sideways smile.

"What, like this?" Chloe asks innocently, leaning in to press a gentle kiss to Beca's lips.

"Mmhmm," Beca nods against Chloe's mouth, tilting her head up to deepen the kiss.

Their kiss grows more frantic by the minute, Chloe moving to lie on top of Beca, while the brunette reaches up to tangle her fingers in a fistful of red hair.

Chloe's lips are soft and taste like a strange combination of Chapstick and the Gong Bao chicken she had eaten earlier. But Beca's petty sure that might just be her new favorite flavor, because she is currently making out with Chloe freaking Beale.

Chloe's tongue darts out to trace Beca's bottom lip, seeking entrance, to which the brunette happily complies, parting her lips to let Chloe's tongue meld with hers.

Beca releases her grip on Chloe's hair, slowly running her hands down the redhead's sides until they settle on the small of the older girl's back, gently pulling their bodies closer.

Settling herself further on top of Beca, Chloe sighs against the other girl's lips, moving one hand to affectionately frame Beca's face.

There's nothing else on either of their minds; just here and now. Just the two of them, surrounded by each other's bodies and the echoing sound of soft moans and lips smacking. They could easily go further right now, but they don't. They both restrain themselves from touching every part of the other, knowing that they had still technically only been on one date—and they are going to do this right, dammit!

Finally breaking apart for some much needed oxygen, Chloe's baby blue's lock onto Beca's navy eyes, pupils dilated with lust, as they both lie panting against one another.

Regaining her breath, Beca swallows thickly. "Do you have anywhere else to be?" she rasps, voice hoarse from their little make out session.

"Nope," Chloe shakes her head with a dopey smile, moving to roll off of the smaller girl.

"Do you want to watch some T.V. or something?" Beca says, reaching for her laptop.

"I thought you hated T.V?"

"Movies", Beca corrects. "T.V. isn't so bad. Depends on the show," she shrugs.

They settle on streaming a few reruns of Parks and Rec—Beca having deemed it a worthy show—and settle in on Beca's bed together.

Midway through their third episode, Beca feels Chloe's body grow heavy as the redhead doses off. She's lying curled up next to Beca, her head rested on the brunette's shoulder and arms cuddled snuggly between their two bodies. Her mouth is parted slightly, sending soft puffs of air against Beca's neck. It tickles, but Beca can't bring herself to wake the sleeping girl.

The room is dark, save for the blue glow of Beca's laptop, and the contrast creates soft shadows across Chloe's resting form. Beca can't help but reach up to lightly trace the redhead's features with the pad of her finger, silently committing every last freckle on Chloe's face to memory. Her heart aches at the sight, both from how much she feels herself falling for the other girl, and at knowing that she'll never truly be hers.

Pressing a soft kiss to the scar on Chloe's forehead, Beca quietly shuts her laptop closed and nestles in next to the sleeping beauty, blankly staring up at the ceiling until she too finally doses off.


	9. Chapter 9

_As promised, here is chapter 9 for ya!_

 _I was hoping to have chapter 10 written before posting this, but then I had some health issues that pushed me back. I will try to crack it out in the next few days though. So hopefully I can have that posted for you all in the next week :)_

 _As always, thanks so much for reading! We just reached 200 follower OMG!_

 _And don't forget to f/f and review :)_

 _P.S. only 2 more chapter until the BIG REVEAL...so get excited!_

 **Chapter 9**

It's been a few days since Chloe—accidentally—spent the night at Beca's.

Beca had half expected the next morning to be awkward and uncomfortable, but she couldn't have been more wrong. She liked waking up wrapped in the redhead's arms, the way Chloe squeaked when she stretched, the quick morning peck, and her absolute favorite, Chloe's raspy morning voice. Above all else, she loved how comfortable it felt to just go above her morning routine alongside the redhead. Beca's not a morning person by any stretch of the imagination, but waking up next to Chloe makes her think that mornings could very well become her new favorite time of day. _And yes, she hates herself for how cliché that sounds._

Beca was sitting on the grass outside of the social sciences building, flip-flopping between writing a psychology paper and her latest mix—obviously, her mix was getting more attention. She had a little over an hour till her next class, so she figured she would set up shop on the grass outside and get a little work done in the meantime.

But her plans were quickly scrapped when a dark shadow cast itself over her screen and a new body plopped down next to her.

Nudging one earphone off, to sit behind her ear, Beca turned to see her best friend sitting cross legged on the lawn next to her.

"Hey dude," Jesse greets, reaching into his backpack to pull out a bag of pretzels, some juice pouches, gummy worms, and of course, a container of pre-popped popcorn.

Beca thinks Benji must've lent Jesse his "never-ending bag of mystery" because the food—among other things—just doesn't deem to stop. Jesse even pulls out a flameless candle at one point.

"Uhm, you think you've got enough food there, bud?" Beca questions, reaching to grab a juice pouch for herself.

"My mom says I'm a growing boy, thank you very much," the boy smiles, getting more comfortable in his position on the grass.

"Yeah, maybe horizontally," Beca snorts.

"Okay, rude," Jesse feigns, tossing a popcorn kernel at Beca. "But seriously, it feels like I haven't seen you in a while. Well besides at the station, but that doesn't really count."

"Yeah, I've been busy with school and the Bella's."

"So, you mean Chloe," Jesse states more than asks.

Beca blushes, ducking her head to play with the straw of her drink in a feeble attempt to hide her flush. "Uhm, yeah that too I guess", she mumbles.

"So how is it going with you two?" Jesse nudges her.

"Good."

"Good? That's it? That's all I get?" The boy exclaims with a small chuckle.

"What do you want me to say? It's good…. we hang out all the time…. I see her at Bella's practice. What else do you want?" Beca says, munching on a pretzel between comments.

"Any more, big romantic gestures since the last date? I'm guessing not, seeing as though _I_ haven't been consulted. But I guess Chloe could've whipped something up." He muses with an impish grin.

"No. We mostly just hang out at one of our places or get coffee or something after practice. Aubrey has us practicing so much that by the time rehearsals are over the last thing either of us want to do is go out on some long date."

"Are you guys getting ready for the riff off too?" Jesse asks inquisitively.

"What the fuck is a riff off?" Beca's head snaps up.

"It's like a crazy acappella sing off," Jesse states, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "Do they not tell you _anything_ over at the Bella's? God, Bumper has been having us prepare for weeks now," the boy groans dramatically.

"I don't know. They may have said something. I tend to tune out most of what Aubrey says," Beca shrugs, finishing off her drink.

"You tune out most of what anyone says," Jesse smirks.

"Oh, I'm sorry. What did you just say?" Beca teases, pretending to have not heard his comment.

Jesse scoffs playfully and pushes Beca's shoulder, sending her toppling over into the dry grass.

Dusting herself off, Beca shoots Jesse an unimpressed glare, to which he responds with a casual shrug and turns back to his smorgasbord of snacks. "So it was cool seeing mama Mitchell last week," he mumbles through a mouthful of popcorn.

"Mmhmm," Beca hums absentmindedly, fiddling with her opened laptop. "So what have you been up to?"

"Eh, you know, same as you," Jesse shrugs, "School, Trebles, the usual. Oh, but the guys did drag me to this frat party the other day. Seriously, the best party I've ever been to, hands down."

"Oh, yeah?" she asks, still not entirely focused on what the boy is saying.

"Yep. That girl Amy from the Bella's was there. She started a game of human bowling. It. Was. Epic."

Beca just shakes her head in amusement. "Yeah, she's definitely putting something in her fruit loops."

"You should come to the next party. I'll text you," Jesse insists.

"Yeah, no thanks. I'm good."

"Aw, come on Becs. Live a little," the boy pleas, throwing his hands up in exclamation

"Last I checked I still had a pulse. I'm living enough, thank you very much," Beca winks sarcastically.

"I though you said you wanted to dip your toe in the college party pond? You know, free beer and babes? Ringing any bells…?" Jesse motions with his hand.

"Yeah, well…that was before…" Beca whispers with downcast eyes.

Jesse sobers, eyes scrunched in gentle realization. "You've really fallen for her, haven't you?" he asks softly. Though, he really doesn't need to ask.

Beca doesn't answer, instead busying herself with her computer and gnawing on her lower lip.

Jesse sighs knowingly. _Yeah, this is gonna suck._

XXX

Turns out Jesse was right, and the Bella's were participating in the annual Barden riff off.

Apparently Aubrey hadn't cared to share that with the group though until only two days before, instead figuring she, Chloe and Stacie would do most of the work for the Bella's team. Hoping she had taught the rest of the girls enough that they would at least be able to pick up on the beat of a song or background vocals. But in all honesty, she wasn't expecting too much out of them. No one was. And who could blame her, the group hadn't exactly been gelling in practice, and _that_ was when they were working on a pre-set number. God only knows how they would do having to sing on the spot.

Which is why it was so surprising to see the girls actually step up to the plate and do pretty damn well at the riff off.

It's the middle of the night, and without the blazing sun, its pretty cold—well, for Georgia at least. All Beca wants to do is get the hell out of the dingy old pool they're at and back to her warm bed. But, it's apparently attendance at the riff-off is a Bella's obligation or something—as Aubrey had so ferociously informed them all—and Chloe seemed pretty exited for the event, so Beca sucked it up and came. If worst came to worst, she could just pretend to sing or something.

Aubrey led the team out of the gate with the 'Ladies of the 80's' category— _figures—_ with Chloe and Stacie dutifully backing her on vocals. The other girl's fell into a groove too, quickly picking up on beats or simply humming along if they weren't as sure of the song. But it actually worked, oddly enough. They were finally working together as a team to find their harmony.

Figures, Stacie took the lead on songs about sex. That wasn't surprising. But what was surprising, was to see Cynthia rose jump in and steal a few songs of her own from the Trebles. Even Amy took on lead vocals for a bit. Which, yes, Amy loves being centre stage, but no one was expecting her to be so quick on the draw when it came to matching song lyrics. Even Bumper looked a little shocked when she cut the Trebles off, effectively earning a point in the Bella's favor. But when Bumper's angry glare turned into inappropriate gyrating and sexual lip-licking, everyone knew it was time to steal the song away from Amy…and fast.

Jesse was the one to finally step in, cutting Amy off with the first bars of Foreigner's "Feels Like the First Time", the rest of the Treble's quickly following suit.

Beca had hung back for most of the riff off, preferring to let the others battle it out and fight for the spotlight, but when no one seemed prepared to cut Jesse off, Beca's musical wheels began to turn. She lived to annoy the boy, and stealing his song would certainly do just that. She couldn't just let him win. It just wouldn't be right, she thought to herself smugly.

Besides, maybe if she actually participated—or even won it for the Bella's—she could finally prove to Aubrey that she knows a thing or two about music. Maybe then Aubrey would give her mixes a chance. A riff off is basically a live mix session after all.

So, seeing her opening, Beca quickly rushes forward from behind the crowd of Bella's, cutting Jesse off mid-lyric and busting out the rap to "No Diggity".

Whiiiccchhh, apparently no one else seems to know. But Jesse encourages her on, and eventually the rest of the girls seem to pick up enough of the beat to back her up, while Amy—remembering the lyrics all of a sudden—joins Beca on vocals.

A plus to no one else knowing the song though was that no one could predict the lyrics or steal the round with another song. So Beca takes it home.

That is, until Justin interrupts the Bella's celebratory cheers, telling them that Beca had sung "it's" instead of "it", and so, the Bella's were *clap* *clap* "cut off". By default, the Trebles win.

Aubrey's furious, and Beca thinks she might just punch Justin. But instead, she grits her teeth and clenches her fists, leading the Bella's off to side for a nice verbal lashing.

"Before everybody goes to bed tonight, I need you to make a list of everything you did wrong," the blonde orders, even Stacie doesn't dare try to calm the fuming blonde.

Hoping to diffuse the situation a little, Beca speaks up. "Come on. Guys, what we just did was great, right?" She looks to Chloe for confirmation, and the redhead nods lightly with a reassuring smile.

But Aubrey isn't having any of it. "Calm your pits, _Beca",_ she spits _._ "We still lost".

"Yeah, but it was spontaneous. We were awesome. We were actually listening—" Beca says, only to be cut off by the blonde.

"Okay, everybody hands in."

Beca just rolls her eyes. So much for earning Aubrey's trust, she thinks.

Aubrey's still huffing when Stacie finally manages to pull her away from the empty pool with promises of a relaxing bath and something Beca doesn't even want to know about.

Beca had felt pretty good about her little performance only five minutes early, but now she was feeling pretty low. She had told herself that the Bella's didn't mean anything to her and that she was only there out of obligation, but to hear the rest of the girls grumbling about losing coupled with Bumper's incessant bragging, she couldn't help but feel like she let the group down. Music was something she was supposed to be good at, and she dropped the ball.

Jesse gives her a quick pat on the back as he rushes off with the rest of the guys to celebrate, murmuring a quick "good job" in Beca's ear as he passed.

Beca fakes a small smile and goes over to sit on the edge of the emptied pool. She watches the rest of the groups file out of the makeshift amphitheatre, smiling and laughing about their respective performances, all the while feeling like she had majorly fucked up. She had actually been having fun when she was singing, and for once, she was starting to feel like she was a part of something; that she belonged. But of course, she had gotten cocky and went ahead and messed everything up for everyone. Sure, the riff off wasn't the Grammy's or even a real competition for that matter, but it had meant something to the group, and _she_ was the one to ruin that.

Just as the last of the groups head out, she's joined by someone on the edge of the pool. Chloe squats down beside Beca, sitting down next to the younger girl and swinging her legs over the edge to dangle over the deep end.

"Hey," she smiles.

"Hi", Beca replies politely, her voice low in a mix of shame and sadness.

"Don't listen to Aubrey. You were great," Chloe nudges Beca lightly with her shoulder.

"You don't have to do that; you don't have to lie. I pretty much just handed the Trebles the upper hand," she sulks.

"Don't worry about that. Seriously, the Trebles already had the upper hand. Don't tell Aubrey I said this, but I'm pretty sure puke-gate locked that one in," she winks playfully, hoping to cheer the small brunette up. But Beca doesn't budge. "Seriously Beca," Chloe adds sincerely, "you were great. We were great. For once, we were actually working together and not fighting for parts. Who cares if we didn't win, we had fun, we were a team."

Beca finally looks up from the spot on the bottom of the pool she had been staring at so intently and offers a small smile in acknowledgment.

"Besides, we've only ever won once, and that," Chloe motions with her hand to the empty pool, "was aca-amazing." Beca chuckles and rolls her eyes. "And pretty hot," Chloe whispers with a seductive wink.

Beca blushes, hoping the darkness will hide her reddening cheeks.

"Who knew you could rap," Chloe beams. "And 'No Diggity' no less. That song is my jam," Chloe wiggles in place.

"Your lady jam?" Beca mocks with a sly smirk and light nudge _. And she's back_.

"No," Chloe laughs. "But now it might just be," the redhead smirks, eventually breaking into a full on grin, tongue sticking out slightly between her teeth.

Now, Beca's red from laughing so hard.

The two girls sit on the edge long after their laughter had died down, enjoying the quiet that so often seemed to accompany their little hang-out sessions. But it wasn't ever a bad or awkward silence. It was always a content silence, a happy to be with each other and not needing to say anything kind of silence.

"So, what's up with the empty pool?" Beca finally asks, as Chloe delicately traces the headphone's tattoo on her left wrist. "I mean, I get the acoustics thing, but why is the pool empty in the first place. Doesn't Barden have a swim team or something? This is Georgia after all, its hot as balls most of the time."

Chloe holsters her laugh. It was such a random question; such a _Beca_ question to ask. "When they built the rec centre a few years ago, the indoor pool kind of put this one out of commission. Or at least that's what I heard. It makes for a pretty cool riff off venue though….and a few of the frats sometimes throw parties here."

"Still seems like a waste of a perfectly good pool," Beca stated, scanning the place as she spoke.

"What," Chloe snorts in derision, " _you_ wanna go swimming?"

"Maybe," Beca plays along. "But now my dreams are crushed," she says loudly, her voice echoing through the concrete hole.

"I have an idea," Chloe grins mischievously, moving to haul herself up from the edge of the pool.

Beca remained seated, looking up at the older girl in confusion. "What—", she begins to ask, but Chloe just shushes her with a finger to her lips. "Don't ask questions. Just trust me," she smiles, offered a hand to the brunette.

"At least I don't have a hood over my head this time", Beca grumbles as she allows Chloe to lead her to wherever the hell they're headed.

They finally stop when they reach the north walking path. It's the path the treble's house is on, along with most of the other Greek and club houses. There's a small pond, which the houses encircle, and the path that leads from the houses to the rest of the campus buildings.

For a second Beca thinks that maybe Chloe's taking her to the Treble's house—she had heard they had a hot tub, maybe that was Chloe's plan—but the redhead then darts off the path and in the opposite direction of the houses towards the pond. Beca just follows as Chloe walks over the grass and weaves through the trees until she stops at a spot along the water bank where there's more dirt—or more accurately mud—than rocks and reeds.

"You up for a swim?" Chloe challenges, turning back to face the confused brunette.

"Are you serious?" Beca coughs. Surely Chloe can't actually be serious about this. But the redhead nods and walks closer to the water.

"I don't even have a bathing suit. Plus, there's probably alligators in there…maybe even a dead body or two," the brunette grimaces, reversing Chloe's actions and taking a step back.

"Oh don't be such a baby. Come on," the redhead urges, turning her back to Beca and sliding her shoes off before dropping her jeans and wading into the water.

It's dark, but the light of the moon over the small lake shows off the perfectly defined silhouette of Chloe's equally perfect body, and Beca can't do anything but stare as the girl strips off her top and tosses it onto the shore, sinking further into the water. _Fuck the alligators_.

Beca hurries to rid herself of her own clothes, leaving herself in just her black boy shorts and navy bra, and stumbles her way over to the shore.

It's dark, and she knows Chloe's too far away to make out anything besides her own silhouette and the shine of her eyes, so she knows that even in her current state of undress, the girl wont be able to tell there's _something_ missing from Beca's pale skin. The same goes for Chloe. And maybe it's for the best. As tempting as it is to finally _just know_ what name Chloe has on her body, Beca knows the longer she goes without knowing, the longer she has to spend with the girl. Ignorance is bliss right?

Deciding to just go for it, Beca allows no time to acclimatize to the water and instead just drops her body in and makes her way over to where Chloe is patiently treading water with a satisfied grin on her lips.

Beca awkwardly paddles her way over to Chloe, trying her best not to think about what might be under her right now or swimming around her in this water. She instead chooses to focus on Chloe's eyes, the way they sparkle when the moonlight hits them, and the way Chloe's skin glows against the water's reflection.

Only their head's are out of the water, bobbing about as they tread water. They're quiet once again. Chloe opens her mouth slightly and licks her lips like she's about to say something.

But she doesn't. She just treads a little closer to Beca and leans in to kiss the younger girl. Beca arches her neck out, trying to press her lips a little harder against Chloe's, but without anything to stand on or hold, it's hard to gain that extra bit of necessary leverage. So they settle for soft kisses, lips only half meeting and noses bumping clumsily as they bob up and down with each paddle.

But then Beca feels something brush against her foot. "What the fuck was that?" she shrieks, shuffling a few feet away from Chloe, eyes frantically scanning the water as if searching for the Loch Ness monster. "I swear to God Beale, if I die here you can't come to my funeral."

Chloe laughs hysterically, water sloshing about as she tries to simultaneously keep herself afloat. "Relax, Becs. It was my foot."

"Sure that's what you say…" Beca grumbles, but she makes no further attempt to escape the dark water.

"Oh shush", Chloe splashes at the brunette, hitting Beca square in the face.

The brunette makes a disgusted face as she wipes the offending water from her eyes and makes a gagging sound at the few drops that landed in her mouth. "Oh, so that's how it's going to be?" Beca challenges with a quirked brow.

"No, no, Bec. Come on. I'm sorry," Chloe pleas, trying to swim away from Beca. But Beca's fast, grabbing the redhead's ankle, making Chloe squeal, and pulling her back, effectively dunking the older girl in the process.

"You suck," Chloe grumbles, wiping the water from her face as she resurfaces.

"Fair's fair, Chlo," Beca announces triumphantly.

Chloe can't help but laugh, and Beca can't help but join her; the two girls cackling madly in the water.

"Hey, who's out there? You can't be in the lake!" a deep voice suddenly yells.

"Shit," Beca mouths to Chloe, as they two quickly shuffle to get out of the lake—well as quickly as you can be running through water. When the finally reach the shore, they bolt out of the water as fast and as quietly as they can, grabbing their discarded clothes and running off along the shoreline.

"This is campus police, stop!" the voice yells after them, but only spurs the girls to run faster.

Beca quickly ducks behind a cluster of bushes, pulling Chloe down with her, their clothes clutched tightly to their heaving chests.

Beca holds a finger up to her lips, signaling Chloe to stay quiet. They can hear the crunching of leaves and the light stomping of feet only a number yards away. They hear the person grumble a "damn kids" under their breath and then plod off in the other direction.

After counting to fifty and deeming themselves clear, Chloe pulls her shirt back over her head and stands up to step back into her jeans. Beca quickly does the same. Her shirt sticks to her torso and her jeans are a bitch and a half to pull on, but it's nighttime, it's cold, and being sopping wet was not helping the situation in the least. Plus, now that Chloe was within clear eyeshot of her body, she hurried to get herself covered as quickly as she could. In all honesty, Chloe probably wasn't even thinking about _that_ right now, given the whole running from the law thing. But Beca wasn't going to take any chances.

"Well that was close," Chloe exhales, peering out from behind a tree to see if the guard was still walking around.

"Yeah, it was something alright," Beca replies, teeth beginning to chatter from the cold.

"You ready to head back?" Chloe giggles at the small brunette. Clearly Beca wasn't as amused by the situation as Chloe.

"Fuck yes," Beca exclaims, already racing out of the bushes and back to the walking path.

"Can I walk you back?" Chloe asks shyly once she's caught up with Beca. Beca nods, reaching to grab hold of Chloe's hand.

When they reach Baker Hall, Beca stops abruptly and turns to look at Chloe with a nervous expression. Her brows are furrowed, her bottom lip is caught between her teeth, and she can't seem to pull her gaze off of their interlocking hands.

Beca opens her mouth a few times, on the verge of speaking, only to clamp her jaw shut once again. Chloe just waits patiently, rubbing her thumb—in what she hopes is a soothing gesture—along the back of Beca's hand.

"Can I ask you something?" Beca finally works up the courage to say, eyes lifting from their hands to lock in on Chloe's shining baby blues.

"Always." Chloe assures, squeezing the brunette's hand in emphasis.

"We—we've been hanging out a lot lately. And…and we went out on…on a date. And I like you…and I think you like me. I mean you've put up with me enough, so you must like my at least a bit," she swallows thickly. "and we've kissed…a bunch. Which is _great._ Really great, even. And I mean, you've already met my mom for Gods sake. So…I guess what I was wondering...if you wanted to…is…would you…like…maybe want to officially be my girlfriend…?" the tiny brunette rambles. "It's okay if you don't want to. I mean I would totally get i—" Beca's cut off by Chloe's lips firmly planted against hers.

When Chloe pulls away, Beca's eyes slowly flutter open, suddenly feeling as if she'd just downed five vodka shots. _God, was it possible to get drunk off of kissing someone?_

Chloe's beaming at her, their faces only inches apart, and all Beca can make out is the redhead's face-splitting grin, crinkling her eyes slightly at the sides it was so big.

The older girl giggles slightly, "I kind of thought we already were," Chloe confesses with a crooked lip.

"Oh," Beca breathes. "Oh, yeah. Okay. Cool", she blinks blindly, not entirely sure what to do or say.

"I mean it's not Facebook official yet or anything. I haven't carved our initials into a tree yet either," the redhead smirked at Beca's signature eye roll. "I just kind of figured we were a thing. But now its _officially_ official."

"Here. Hold on one sec", the redhead says, leaning out of Beca's face to pull her phone out of her back pocket. Chloe spends a minute clicking on the screen and then begins typing something out before stopping to just smile and the screen. " _Now_ it's official", she declares, showing Beca an opened contact page. Upon closer inspection Beca notices the page is opened to a contact with the name "the girlfriend" and a dozen colorful hearts next to it, sitting prominently above Beca's own cellphone number.

She can't help but crack a sideways smile before handing the phone back to Chloe.

"Now give me yours," Chloe insists.

Beca rummages through her pocket for a moment, the fabric still slightly damp from her wet skin, before pulling her phone out and handing it over to the other girl.

Chloe again focuses her attention on the bright screen, typing furiously for a moment before handing the device back to its rightful owner with a quick wink.

Beca spares a quick glance at the new contact name, expecting to see one identical to Chloe's, only to be surprised by another name entirely. She can't help but smile and roll her eyes. Under the contact info where it used to simply read "Chloe", now sits the moniker "My Sexy Redhead". And as cheesy and utterly middle-school as it was, Beca couldn't help but swoon at that one single word; Chloe was _hers._


	10. Chapter 10

_Hola trustee readers!  
_

 _Apologies. This took a little longer than expected. However, instead of writing one chapter, I wrote 2! Plus, the third is almost finished and just needs editing. I will have another chapter up for you guys in a few days (I like to space them out for posting/viewing purposes)._

 _This chapter was wayyy too long, so I broke it into two. So, the tattoo reveal has now been pushed back one chapter. But it's coming :)_

 _Thanks as always, and dont forget to f/f and review! I love hearing from you guys :)_

 _PS. If any of you are on tumblr, come talk to me at the-bechloe-bible. It's not my main account so I dont post much besides chapter updates, but im always happy to chat!_

 **Chapter 10**

Bella's practice that day had been particularly brutal; worse than it's ever been. _And that's saying something._ Sectionals were fast approaching and Aubrey had gone full aca-Nazi trying to get the girl's ready. What with Chloe's nodes reveal and their general lack refinery, Aubrey was freaking the fuck out—to put it lightly.

So Beca blames Aubrey fully, because rehearsal that day had her so exhausted that when she bumped into her dad on her way home, she didn't even have the energy to throw out a single sarcastic retort, let alone shut down his offer for dinner with him and Sheila on Thursday night. All she could do was simply sigh and agree.

Honestly, her mind was elsewhere. She was so tired she was practically delirious, her muscles felt like they had been pulverized, she was probably severely dehydrated, and Chloe had been wearing the tightest spandex shorts during practice. So forgive her if her brain wasn't working properly. Before she knew what she was doing, she had agreed to dinner and the words "can I bring someone" had spilt out of her mouth and hit her square it the face. Warren nodded enthusiastically, his face suddenly lighting up as he offered a sincere "looking forward to it", and then the damage was done; there was no going back.

 _Fuck_.

XXX

On her walk—make that crawl—home, Beca reluctantly pulled her phone out of her gym bag pocket and opened her texting app. For a moment, she thought about just bringing Jesse, but then her dad would probably think they were dating, and she really didn't feel like dealing with _that_ all night. No matter how many times she had told Warren she and Jesse were strictly friends, her dad never fully seemed to listen, finishing the conversation with a knowing "okay" and the occasional wink. Plus, as bad as Beca would feel dragging Chloe along to dinner with her dad and step monster, a sick part of her kind of wanted to see the look on her dad and Sheila's faces when she announced she was dating a girl. Warren wasn't homophobic or conservative per say, but Beca figured it might be fun to throw him off his rocker a bit. And if he protested, she could just throw the fact that he had been the one to force her to join a club—and thus get to know Chloe—in the first place, back in his face.

 **[Beca]: How much would you hate me if I asked you to go to my dad's for dinner this Thursday?**

 **Scratch that. Not asked. Begged.**

A few minutes later came Chloe's reply, and Beca had to take a long breath to steady herself before reading it. She wasn't asking Chloe to marry her or anything nearly so serious, but now that they were _officially_ official—Chloe's words—it felt like kind of a big deal to be asking Chloe to dinner at her dads.

 **[Chloe]: You don't even have to ask twice** **J** **What do I need to wear?**

It's not that Beca was expecting Chloe to say no right off the bat, it's just that she wasn't expecting her to sound _so_ okay with it. Beca _herself_ was not entirely okay with it. But Chloe never ceased to amaze her. The girl's optimism and selfless attitude was something to be admired. She was a down for anything kind of girl, who was always willing to lend a helping hand or spare an extra minute for someone else's happiness. Beca loved that about her. It made her feel special; like someone was trying, fighting to break through her walls and be there, _for her_. And in return, it made Beca want to be better. Better, for _Chloe_.

 **[Beca]: Seriously? Omg. I so owe you. You are a life saver. And honestly anything. It's casual. I'll be in my usual get up.**

 _Get up? Seriously? Come on Beca, get it together!_ She chastised internally.

 **[Chloe]: It's a date.**

 **[Beca]: Yeah no. Ew. Don't say that. That makes it sound like we're double dating with my dad and the step monster. Gross. No!**

 **[Chloe]: Alright drama queen. I have to get to class. Ill text you later** **J**

XXX

Come Thursday night, Beca is outside Chloe's apartment with an Uber, promptly at 5:45 pm.

They were invited to Beca's dad's place for 6 o'clock, and while he only lived five minutes from campus, Beca had scheduled an extra few minutes just in case Chloe took longer to get ready than expected, or in case Beca had a panic attack about her _girlfriend_ having dinner with her father for the first time.

Unlucky for her though, Chloe is actually ready when Beca arrives, effectively cutting Beca's panic time in half. But then again, maybe it's for the best. The faster they get there, the faster they can leave, right?

Seeing the redhead walk through the double set of glass doors that lead into the apartment building, Beca does her best to swallow her nerves quickly and slides herself out of the car to hold the door open for the other girl.

"Hi", Chloe beams, leaning over to press a quick kiss to Beca's cheek before slipping into the backseat.

Beca returns the greeting and follows the older girl back into the car. She quickly tells the driver where they are headed, before settling herself back next to Chloe.

The ride over is for the most part silent, save for Chloe's occasional question about Beca's day or how her classes went. Beca though, so overcome with nerves, couldn't find it in her to produce more than three word answers. Instead, fiddling with her hands the entire time and bouncing her leg nervously. Chloe saw when Beca went to start chewing on her thumb nail, and quickly reached over to grasp the brunette's hand in her own, giving it a reassuring squeeze and setting in softly on her thigh.

Beca gave Chloe a guilty look, before exhaling loudly and allowing the redhead to scoot closer to her in the seat.

"It's going to be fine," Chloe assured with a warm smile. "I've met your dad after all. Plus, from what I've heard, it's not like you like Sheila, right? So what does it matter what she thinks. We'll go, eat, and get out of there. Simple enough, right?" The redhead spoke, tracing Beca's thumb with her own.

Beca blew out a breath of air, letting her head drop back to rest on the edge of the seat. "It's not that I'm worried about them liking you. _Everyone_ likes you. You're Chloe freaking Beale," she turned her head to shoot Chloe a smirk when the redhead laughed slightly. "It's just that...I've never done this before," she adds more quietly, turning her head back to stare at the roof of the car. "And I don't even know if my dad knows I like girls. It's just all kind of hitting me right now. Sorry, it's stupid."

"It's not stupid," Chloe says firmly, bringing her left hand up to join where her right is locked onto Beca's. "And you definitely don't have to apologize. I get it. It's scary. Just let me in, okay?" she adds softly.

Beca rolls her head again to look back at Chloe, offering a small nod and accompanying smile. Somehow Chloe always _just knew_ exactly what to say to lift Beca's fears and ease her anxiety. And Beca couldn't be any more appreciative of that.

Seeing the brunette perk up a little, Chloe went back to their usual lighthearted banter. After all, she knew Beca could only stand to be vulnerable for so long.

"We should have a code word or something in case things take a turn," the older girl suggested thoughtfully.

"Uhm yeah, sure. Okay."

"Okay. How about…firebird?" Chloe says, looking very much invested in the idea.

"How in the hell am I suppose to just pop that into a conversation without it being obvious?" Beca laughs.

"Okay…what about…guacamole?" Chloe asks with a quirked brow.

"Sure. It's better than firebird I guess," Beca obliges with a roll of her eyes.

"Wait! But what if I start a conversation with your dad about Mexican food?" Chloe exclaims, suddenly second guessing her choice in code-word. "I love Mexican food. This is a real possibility, Beca!"

"Oh God, what if he serves Mexican!"

"You picked it. Now you've got to live with it, Red," she laughs.

XXX

"Hey Bec, nice to see you." Warren greets, opening the door to let the girls in. "And Chloe, right?" the redhead nods. "It's nice to see you again, as well."

"Thank you for having me. This is for you," Chloe says politely, pulling a bottle of wine from her purse and handing it to the older man.

"Chablis," Warren reads, a little surprised by the caliber of the gift. "This is very generous. You really didn't need to do this. Thank you, Chloe."

Chloe just smiles and brushes off his gratitude with a wave of her hand. In reality she had no clue if the wine was nice or not, she just bought what Aubrey had told her. And yes, granted it was _way_ more expensive than her usual Boones Farm, but wasn't everything? She was a somewhat broke college student after all, if it had any alcohol in it she was fine. But she wanted to make a good impression with Warren and Sheila, and Boone's Farm just wasn't going to cut it.

"I'm going to go get Sheila from the kitchen. Why don't you two get settled in the living room and we will join you in a minute. I think dinner should be ready soon," Warren suggests, turning to go retrieve his wife.

"Dude, what was with the wine?" Beca asks in a hushed tone, slapping Chloe lightly on the shoulder for good measure.

"I couldn't arrive empty handed," Chloe shrugs. "But I didn't know what to bring, so Aubrey helped me out. Apparently her parents drink that stuff, so I figured it was a pretty safe bet."

"If it's good enough for Adolf and Eva…" Beca mumbles sarcastically under her breath.

"Shut up!" Chloe laughs, shoving Beca towards the couch.

Chloe follows Beca into the living room, the brunette gracelessly plopping herself down onto the overstuffed sofa, while Chloe took a minute to soak in her surroundings.

The room was large and decorated impeccably. It had a stone fireplace on one wall, flanked by two built-in bookshelves, a grand bay window looking out over the front garden, extravagant mouldings lined the walls and the furniture looked as though it had been plucked straight out of a Pottery Barn catalog.

It certainly didn't match what Chloe had expected. At least not from the vibe Warren had given off, what with his twill blazers and scuffed briefcase. But then again, he was a tenured professor, and that had to come with a pretty hefty paycheck.

"Wow. This place is gorgeous," she breathed, sitting down next to Beca.

"Still don't believe what I said about Sheila's ex-husband?" Beca whispered in close to Chloe's ear. So close, Chloe could practically feel the smirk Beca was currently sporting.

"Alright, now that we are all here…" Warren announces as he enters the room, accompanied by an older blonde woman.

"Hey Sheila", Beca offers without a hint of enthusiasm, scooting to sit back in her seat.

Sheila doesn't seem to mind so much though, brushing off Beca's attitude with a smile. "Hi Beca. I haven't seen you in a while. And who's this?" she asks extending a hand to Chloe.

"Oh, uhm yeah," Beca swallows awkwardly. "Chloe, this is Sheila. Sheila this is Chloe…" she says motioning between the two. "…my girlfriend," she tacks on at the end. _Wait for it…._ She thought to herself.

"Well its nice to meet you. Living so far from Beca, I've never really met any of her friends," Sheila says warmly, moving to sit down next to Warren on another couch.

"You have a gorgeous home," Chloe offers. The meet-and-greet with Warren and Sheila already felt far more formal than it had with Jill, and Chloe could feel Beca starting to fidget in her seat next to her. Don't get her wrong, Warren and Sheila seemed lovely—though she couldn't really tell yet if Sheila's kindness was a front or not. _This_ image certainly didn't live up to Beca calling her a monster—but there was an audible air of tension in the room, and Chloe was beginning to think her code word would be making more than one appearance tonight.

"Thank you. It's kind of my pride and joy. I'm a pharmaceutical rep, but in another life, I would be an interior decorator," Sheila boasts, adjusting one of the pillows next to her as if to prove her point.

"Well you will have to give me a tour later," Chloe insists politely.

"Absolutely. The kitchens just that way with the dining room, and then there's the office by the front hall. And then of course our room and Beca's are upstairs with the guest one," the older woman rattles off.

"Since when do I have a room here?" Beca asks in genuine confusion. Sure, Warren had offered once or twice when he and Jill first split for Beca to spend a weekend with him, but the requests had died off pretty quickly, and she certainly hadn't expected him to outfit an entire room for her in his new house.

"You've always had one Beca. You just never wanted to use it," the man shrugs softly, and for the first time—maybe ever—Beca thinks she sees a hint of remorse in his eyes. He had never seemed particularly sorry for up and leaving Beca and her mom, nor for being absent most of her life following such. Sure, he had tried to defend his decisions countless times to Beca, but never had he seemed truly upset to have missed out on having her around. And to be honest, Beca had always thought he liked it that way. _he_ was the one to leave; _he_ was the one to move away; and _he_ was the one to start a new family…without her.

But for the first time, in this instance, Beca wondered if his absence wasn't so much because he wanted it that way, but merely a result of countless failed attempts to get her to meet him halfway and open up to him again. And as someone who tried to shrug off all emotionally vulnerability or feelings in general, Beca didn't like how that made her feel.

And she most certainly didn't know how to respond to that.

Thankfully though, she didn't have to, as Chloe quickly struck up a conversation with Sheila about the horrors of renovating and how her mom was currently trying to get her dad to redo their place in Florida. _Thank God for Chloe._

XXX

Dinner followed shortly after, and to Beca's surprise, wasn't nearly as unbearable as she had expected it to be.

Thankfully for her, Chloe—being Chloe—was a great conversationalist. Whenever Beca seemed to drop the ball or grow uncomfortable by all of her Dad's questions, Chloe—apparently having a sixth sense for these things—would jump in a relieve the fumbling brunette, much to Beca's avail.

If Beca had any worries about her Dad and Sheila not liking Chloe before, they were promptly squashed by the redhead's shear friendliness and positive energy.

Granted, it certainly helped that Chloe was currently working towards a career in teaching, making it easy for her to engage with Warren and pull away from his questions about Beca's classes and grades. Beca wasn't doing poorly per say, and she certainly wasn't going to flunk out any time soon, but Warren—being both her dad and a professor—would no doubt find some error with her performance and read her the riot act about her work ethic and study habits.

So while Chloe chatted with Warren about teacher's college and potential work placements, Beca was more than happy to just sit back and enjoy her meal in peace, offering the occasional nod or shrug whenever her name was thrown around.

Much to her surprise however, the conversation mostly steered away from Beca and Chloe as a couple. Neither Warren nor Sheila ever really commented on their relationship, besides Sheila asking at one point what they had done for their date. But, other than that, the topic truly wasn't given much weight, it was just something that was there and didn't need to be talked to death, something Beca was more than grateful for. She was semi-comfortable talking about Chloe with her mom, but with Warren and Sheila…not so much.

XXX

When dinner was done, Sheila retreated back to the kitchen to prepare the dessert, while Warren, Beca, and Chloe moved to sit in the living room once again.

They were midway through a conversation about the Bellas, and the character that is Fat Amy, when Chloe's phone started buzzing incessantly. She had been mindful enough to turn the ringer off before arriving, but hadn't realized the device was still on vibrate, and whoever was trying to reach her right now wasn't letting up.

She apologized to Warren for the buzzing, before quickly pulling the phone from her pocket with the intent of shutting it off fully. But she stopped when she saw who the messages were coming from. There were 11 missed texts and 5 missed calls from Aubrey, all in the span of about three minutes. Aubrey knew where Chloe was tonight, so for the blonde to be phoning her must mean something's gone wrong.

Noticing Chloe's face drop, Beca leaned over to look at the screen, which Chloe angled slightly to show Beca. "What's wrong?"

"It's Aubrey. She's freaking out about something. Do you mind if I call her really quick?" Chloe asked, her face a combination of worry and embarrassment.

Beca shook her head.

"Sorry. I'm just going to take this outside. I'll be right back," Chloe apologized again to Warren.

"No problem," he replied casually.

"Who was that?" Warren asked once Chloe had rushed off to call her crazy co-captain.

"Aubrey. She's the captain of the Bella's. She's a bit tightly wound. For all we know, she could be freaking out about a hang nail."

Warren chuckled slightly before shifting uncomfortably in his seat to sit upright a little better. "So I didn't want to say anything while Chloe was here, because I didn't want to embarrass you or anything, but I just wanted to say that I'm happy to see you come out of your shell a bit. With Chloe, and with the Bellas," he clarified. "This is exactly what I meant when I said to experience college."

"And you wont get any flack from me, or Sheila, about Chloe being a girl. I just want to make that clear," the man added in a soft, yet firm voice. His eyes were locked in on Beca's, as if hoping she could see his sincerity in them like a crystal ball.

"Thanks." Beca mumbled a little uncomfortably. "Well at least you know I wont get pregnant, right?" she joked lightly, hoping to cut the conversation short and spare her the grief.

"Can I ask you something?" Warren more hesitantly.

"Sure…"

"Is she your soulmate?" he whispered, just in case Chloe were to walk in or Sheila to be eavesdropping.

 _Shit_. Beca thought, as panic began to flood her body.

Beca contemplated her options briefly.

She could tell him the truth and hope for understanding, hope that he didn't write her off completely, like the first pancake in the batch. Or, she could lie and say that Chloe wasn't her soulmate, but then that could lead to Warren asking the name of her actual soulmate, and then she'd just be right back in this same boat. The way she saw it, there really wasn't any way around it…or at least not one that would hold him off indefinitely. After all, Beca was getting older now, and as she got even older it would become more and more strange for her to not be in a serious relationship, or engaged, or eventually married with kids.

But this wasn't her mom, or Jesse, or Chloe, this was her dad. Someone she had opened her self up to before, only to be left disappointed and crushed in the end. And as tough as Beca tried to be for the rest of the world, she wasn't sure she could handle that kind of heartbreak, not again. But then again, warren had been fine with the whole dating a girl thing, and to be fair, he had been trying at lot harder as of late to connect with Beca. Having him know, would be one less person to have to lie to, and one more person to help her get through this and to support her through whatever may come.

Taking a few deep breaths to calm herself, Beca begrudgingly lifted her gaze from the floor to meet her dad's hopeful one.

"You really don't know do you?" she asked sadly. The fact that this was the first time Warren had brought up the subject, hitting her in the gut a little.

"Know what?"

"Uhm. Okay…I don't really know how to say this…and honestly I guess I thought mom would have cracked and told you eventually but…I don't have a soulmate…I never got a tattoo," she informed quietly. _Better to rip the Band-Aid off fast, right?_

"So, Chloe's not…" Warren began, scratching at his beard in confusion.

"No. She has her own."

"Wow," he breathes, leaning back in his chair.

"Yeah…"

"Have you seen a doctor about this? Done any research?"

"I mean, I Googled it a few times…but there was nothing," Beca shrugged, trying to shrink back into the couch cushions.

"I don't really know what to say," her dad spoke after a brief pause.

That bothered her more than it maybe should have. Sure, this was shocking and something completely foreign to Warren—or anyone for that matter—but you'd think he'd have the decency, being her dad and all, to consider that whatever confusion he was currently feeling, his daughter had felt ten fold. All Beca was looking for was some semblance of comfort from the man, but he seemed too frozen in thought to offer much more than he had already said.

"S'fine, you don't have to say anything. Just thought you should know." She mumbled back.

Warren nodded and began rubbing at his face once again, the two sitting there together in awkward silence until they finally heard Chloe walk back through the front door.

As soon as they heard the heavy door shut, the two Mitchell's perked up in their seats, doing their respective bests to conceal exactly how they were feeling at the moment.

"Sorry about that. Apparently the Treble's spray-painted the Bella's bus and Aubrey was freaking out. It was just water soluble stuff though, so Stacie was able to wash it all off," Chloe informed casually, rolling her eyes playfully at her friend's hysterics.

XXX

"Thanks for coming tonight, Bec. Chloe, it was great to see you again, I'll be sure to ask Professor Merkel about that student teaching internship for you." Warren said, as the girl's Uber pulled up.

Sheila had bid the girl's a quick farewell before retreating upstairs to let Warren say his goodbyes and see the girls off.

"Thanks so much for having me. Dinner was great." Chloe smiled.

"Hey uhm, do you mind if I talk to my dad for a sec? I'll be fast. Promise." Beca whispered to Chloe. The redhead nodded before offering a final goodbye to Warren and going to wait by the car.

Beca watched as Chloe sauntered down the front walkway, slipping into the car and greeting the driver. When she turned back around, she was met with a confused looking Warren, complete with quirked eyebrow and worried eyes. He didn't say anything, not wanting to prod, but instead waited expectantly for Beca to say something.

"So, Sectionals are coming up…If, you know, wanted to come…or whatever…that would be cool," she mumbled nervously.

"When is it?"

"The eighteenth."

"I think I have a speaking engagement that night."

"Oh, yeah sure. That's fine." She says, doing her best to swallow her disappointment. Sure, her relationship with Warren wasn't suddenly mended, but she was trying. She was extending an olive branch, and whether he meant to or not, breaking that branch still stung a little.

"But if you guys make it on, be sure to let me know, okay?" Warren added sincerely.

"Yeah, for sure."

"Listen Beca, I've seen a real improvement in you since being here, since joining the Bellas. Just…keep it up kiddo." punctuating his point with an awkward fist-bump to Beca's shoulder.

"Okay, well…thanks for dinner." Beca shrugged, before giving her dad a quick side hug and rushing to join Chloe in the car.

XXX

"Hey so, thanks for coming with me tonight," Beca suddenly spoke, watching Chloe trace patterns on her hand as the car wound a corner. "I know it's not exactly the Brady Bunch or anything…"

"It was fine, Bec," the redhead assured. "No one threw anything and there was no yelling or talk of Sapphic indecency like at Aubrey's family dinners. I had fun. It's like every time I meet one of your family members I get this sneak peek into why you are the way you are and where you come from. I like it." She said with a cheeky smile

"Well that's just not fair then, Beale. I haven't gotten any sort of cheat-cheat into your inner psyche," the brunette scoffed.

"I walked in on you in the shower naked. I don't think you need any extra help seeing what's going on under all this." Chloe gestured to her body with a seductive wink, causing both girls to erupt in a fit of laughter.


	11. Chapter 11

_Okay, so as I mentioned before, the reveal has been pushed back one chapter. So it's in the NEXT chapter (I promise)!_

 _So get ready, cuz the drama is a coming._

 _As always, f/f and review (I love hearing from you guys) :)_

 _And thanks to all the loyal readers out there!_

 **Chapter 11**

Before Beca knew it, it was the morning of Sectionals and she and the other Bellas were shuffling into the Bellas bus and on their way to compete against five other acappella groups from central Georgia.

It had taken some rearranging, but after deciding Amy would take over Chloe's solo, the group seemed to accomplish the impossible and come together to finalize their routine—or rather, do the routine as Aubrey instructed, and with minimal errors.

They were still a little rough around the edges, and it was a hat toss every time they ran through the performance whether or not it would go as planned—someone always seeming to hold their note a little too long or step slightly out of line—but they were passably performance ready and Aubrey was certain they would be advancing to the next round. And if they didn't…well, Beca didn't want to think about what the blonde would do if they didn't advance.

The girls rushed into the host college's auditorium, having missed their freeway exit twice ( _thanks Amy_ ), to see the first group already mid-performance.

The group was small, maybe six people at most, and they were currently belting out a very melodic rendition of Lilly Allen's "Fuck You". And as if their song choice weren't enough, they were singing out of _sock puppets_. At first Beca thought the whole thing was a joke—a nice gag to get the evening starting off right—but when the commentator took to the stage and offered a round of applause for The Sockapellas, for the first time, Beca thought that maybe Aubrey's confidence wasn't so misplaced.

"Acappella out of sock puppets…genius." Amy murmured from behind Beca, mimicking a puppet with her hand.

"There's no craft there. Watching them will only make you worse." Aubrey interjected.

Aubrey may have been right about them having a shot at the Semi Finals, but she wasn't always right. And Beca would be dammed if she missed a prime opportunity to point that out to the blonde. After all, Chloe's efforts to change Aubrey's mind about their set list and Beca's musical talents weren't making much headway with the blonde.

"At least they're different." Beca argued. And while Beca couldn't actually see Aubrey from her spot in the front of the group, she could pretty well feel the blonde's irritated eye roll.

"Enough." the blonde barked sternly. "I don't care how good or bad the other groups may be, _we_ need to perform to perfection. Got it?"

"You think _she_ could put a sock in it?" Amy murmured to Beca, to which the brunette snorted a laugh.

"Beca!" Aubrey chastised.

"Alright girls, hands in!" Chloe cheered, catching Beca's eye briefly and winking at the younger girl.

XXX

Taking to the stage, Beca nervously skimmed through the crowd of faces. A tiny part of her was hoping that her dad would surprise her and show up, but a larger part was counting against it. Still, it doesn't hurt to be optimistic.

She spotted Benji sitting dead-center, sporting all Treble's colors and waving a giant foam finger enthusiastically. The boy looked like a toddler at Disneyland who had just spotted Mickey Mouse. It made her laugh, and for a moment, distracted her from the fact that she was about to perform live for the first time _ever_.

And then the lights dimmed, and with the telltale sign of a pitch pipe, the Bellas began their set.

They were half way through their set when Beca caught sight of Jesse. He was standing with the Trebles, huddled at the back of the auditorium, while Bumper appeared to be making exaggerated barfing faces at Aubrey.

As soon as Jesse saw Beca looking at him, he began teasing her from his position against the wall, shimmying his shoulders and winking at her in a joking manner. He looked so pleased with himself too; so smug watching Beca drone on through "Eternal Flame". Honestly though, he had every right to be. Whatever set the Treble's had planned would undoubtedly be better and more interesting that the snore fest the Bellas were currently hosting. And while she knew he was trying to get under her skin—in the friendliest way possible—she was thankful he was there—just another tick on the list of memories they could share as friends. But as much as Jesse's warm brown eyes were a comfort to her, they weren't the steely blue ones she was hoping to see in the crowd that night.

And then…Amy went rogue, and Beca was broken from her thought's by the girl's freestyle to "Turn the Beat Around".

It's a shock at first, and takes the girl's a moment to adapt—having to remember their parts and maintain the proper beat despite the Australian's change up. But it's a welcome change—or at least in Beca's eyes. The audience finally looking as though they aren't just moments away from slipping into a coma. And okay, it makes her that much happier knowing that Aubrey is probably losing her mind right now.

At one point, when the girl's circle around as part of their choreography, Beca can see Stacie physically struggling against her laughter when Amy starts jumping up and down, encouraging the audience like she's a headliner at Madison Square Garden. Chloe too has a glint in her eyes, telling Beca she's loving Amy's show just as much as she is.

And then, in a dramatic finale fitting of only Fat Amy, the Australian shreds her shirt, and the crowd erupts in applause and laughter.

The Bellas wind up placing second behind the Trebles, and while Aubrey is most certainly _not_ happy with Amy's impromptu freestyle, they still advance to the next round, and so everyone's lives are spared…for now.

"Amy! That was not the performance we had practiced. And that shirt is custom tailored!" Aubrey squawked as the girls shuffled off stage, their second place trophy in tow.

"What can I say, when the crowd starts a clappin' this Aussie gets to rappin'. Besides, I totally crushed it up there, blondie." Amy shrugs nonchalantly.

"It's fine, Bree. We're moving on. We'll work out all of the bugs before Semi's." Chloe whispered calmly to her friend.

"I don't—", _Now let me see that booty work, booty work._ Aubrey was cut off by the most God-awful attempt at signing.

"Oh, God. What are those losers doing here?" Stacie asked derisively.

"Who are they exactly?" Beca wondered aloud.

"The Tonehangers. They're a bunch of old dudes who still wish they were in college…and had hair." Stacie informed with a scoff.

The Bellas had gathered off to the side of the foyer, watching as Bumper basically reiterated Stacie's exact words to the Tonehangers himself.

"When are you clowns going to quit pretending you're in college and get a life?" Bumper spat, rubbing the trophy in his hands.

"Hey, just because we've graduated doesn't mean we can't still get off performing our oral magic." One of the Tonehangers defended.

"Oral magic? Really?" Donald laughed.

"Woah, buddy. Are you looking for what I think you're looking for?" said another Tonehanger.

"Yeah, a fight? You wanna fight" a small, elf-like man taunted.

"Yeah!" Bumper roared, handing their trophy off to Jesse. "You know, I would…" he hesitated. "But, I pulled a quad…doing some dance moves..." he mumbled off nervously.

"Hey, you." The little man snapped to Jesse. "We doing this or what?" he lunged forward slightly, making shifty eyes at Jesse as he egged him on.

"What? No." the boy backed away.

"Lets get it on!" Another man roared, shoving Bumper and Donald full force.

"Should we do something?" Cynthia Rose asked, turning to Aubrey.

"No. Just stay here. Stay out of it." She instructed coolly.

"I've wrestled crocodiles and dingos simultaneously," Amy argued, punching the air as if it were a speed bag. Aubrey shot her a warning look.

"Why would you want me to hit you? I don't want to do that." Beca heard Jesse tell the small man, who was viciously trying to provoke the boy into fighting him.

It was full on pandemonium now. Donald was currently wrestling on the ground with one man, while Bumper tried to fight off another one clinging to his back. The rest of the trebles, following Jesse's lead, nervously backed away from another two Tonehangers, as they taunted the group looking for their next victim.

"I need to feel something! Hit me as hard as you can!" the man was now practically pleading Jesse.

 _Yep, this dude is mental._ Beca thought, as she saw the man beg Jesse to stab him with the Trebles trophy. And at that, she knew she had to step in. Jesse was _not_ good at confrontation, and being his best friend it was her obligation to jump in and offer some back up—especially since his teammates were of no help right now. Plus, only she was allowed to punch him.

"Yep, I'm just gonna…" Beca mumbled, dodging through the crowd of Bellas to go help her friend.

"Beca," Chloe called, only to fall upon deaf ears.

"The kraken has been unleashed!" Amy declared, running in Beca's wake. Aubrey reached out and tried to grab onto the girl, but Amy was too fast.

"Oh, God. Amy! What is she doing?" the blonde shrieked, turning to Chloe with desperate eyes.

Beca ran up to Jesse, the small man now pushing the trophy roughly against the boy's chest. Jesse didn't know what to do, he was slowly being cornered by the man, but he _really_ didn't want to fight the guy…or anyone.

Luckily he didn't have to though, because before he knew it, Beca had punched the dude square in the jaw, sending him straight to the floor.

Seeing her girlfriend clutching her hand in pain, Chloe moved to go help the girl, but Aubrey quickly grabbed onto her, holding her in place and telling her to stay out of it.

Instead of staying down and nursing his wound, the man bounced right back up, sporting a sickly satisfied grin. "Oh, that's fantastic!" he roared.

Amy, attracted to the chaos like a shark to blood, came rushing over, ripping the trophy from Jesse's hands and waving it wildly in the air. "Feel the fat power!" she screamed, while Beca jumped for the trophy in her hand, desperately trying to calm the girl down.

The dude was clearly crazy, and Amy herself wasn't always so sane. So Beca knew she had to stop Amy before all hell really broke loose. Crazy and crazy were not a good combination.

Jumping as high as her little legs would allow, Beca finally managed to grab hold of one of the trophy legs, pulling it down to her height, as she fought with Amy to let go.

"Give me a sharp weapon! I want to shove it up his bum!" The Aussie growled.

"Amy!" Beca protested, gripping the plastic tightly between her fingers and pulling with all her might.

And then…it broke. And all Beca saw was glass and the loud sound of shattering.

She was too shocked to move, standing there clutching the broken trophy leg in both hands, as she watched a police officer slowly make his way over to her.

She could hardly heat Amy shouting something about vertical running over the blood rushing through her ears, and by the time she finally registered what was happening, Amy had taken off and left her to take the blame.

"Shit." Beca squeaked.

XXX

Seeing the officer cuff Beca's hands together and guide her by the forearm over to his squad car, Chloe raced over to join Jesse, who was standing dumbfounded as he watched his best friend get hauled off.

When the cops arrived, most of the spectators had bolted—including the Tonehangers and most of the Trebles. Doing their best to offer Beca some privacy, the Bellas had followed Stacie off to the bus, while Aubrey waited with Chloe off in the corner, watching as Beca spoke to the police.

"Jesse, what do we do?" she asked desperately.

"Uhm. I- I don't know." He babbled. "The officer said she'll be held at the station until someone bails her out," he recited, still staring off as the cop car drove away.

"O-Okay. So we just go down there and pay her bail?" Chloe asked, voice cracking as she fought to hold back her tears.

"I don't know. I guess?" he thought for a moment, finally turning to face the panicking redhead. "Shit. Is she going to need a lawyer? Crap, I don't even have any money on me. I have like five bucks and a gift card to Starbucks", he said, patting his pockets.

"Well we can't just leave her there," the girl panicked.

"We should call her dad." Jesse nodded to himself.

"Shouldn't we call her mom instead?" Chloe asked, biting the edge of her thumb nail anxiously.

"She's probably at work. And even if she isn't, it would take her over an hour to get here. We're only 20 minutes from Barden. I think he's our best bet."

"Okay. Do you have his number?"

"Yeah, I'll call him. Hold on," Jesse instructed, walking off to call Warren. Jesse wasn't stupid. He knew Warren would most definitely be angry and more than likely yell. So, thinking it his best option, the boy began pacing the length of the foyer, doing his best to keep Chloe from overhearing the man's shouting.

Chloe waits patiently as Jesse talked on the phone, she could see his face tighten and his body tense as he spoke to the man on the phone. When Jesse ended the call, he turned and walked back over to Chloe with a blank look on his face.

"He's on his way." He said simply. "You should head back with the Bellas. I'll stay and wait for him here."

"I'll wait with you," Chloe insisted, wanting to make sure Beca was okay and got out tonight.

"He sounded pretty mad, and Beca's not going to be happy we called him. You're better going back and letting me take the heat. Seriously." Jesse told her, his eyes soft and honest.

"You're sure?" She really didn't want to leave the boy here alone to wait for Warren. Especially if Warren was in a crummy mood.

"Beca and I have been friends forever. I'm practically family. She'll get over me calling Warren on her. She may not forgive you so fast for getting involved with family stuff." Jesse insisted.

Chloe nodded. He was right. Even if they were dating, they hadn't even known each other for even a year yet. It really wasn't her place to be calling her dad to tattle on her—even if it was in Beca's best interest. "Can you text me when she gets out? Or when he gets here. Anything. Just…text me updates?" she pleaded.

Jesse softened. He could see Chloe cared as much for Beca as the tiny brunette did for her. "Yeah." He nodded, handing over his phone so Chloe can put her number in.

"Thanks Jesse," she said, wrapping him in a tight hug before joining Aubrey and walking back to the Bellas bus.

XXX

Beca sat in the waiting cell of the local police station.

It was dingy and smelt like a damp locker room, but at least there was no one else there to bother her. No late night hookers or disorderly drunks like in all of the movies Jesse had forced her to watch. But then again, the neighbourhood they were currently in looked more like soccer mom central than a crime capital.

She had tried to explain to the officer what had happened at the theatre and how it was simply a big misunderstanding; how the window breaking was merely an accident and not intentional destruction of property. But, the officer told her it was just protocol and she had to come in to the station to give her statement, just in case she was lying or the venue decided to press charges. She was told that unless someone came to bail her out tonight though, she would have to wait until sometime the next day to see a JP, and that meant spending the night in this cage.

"Shit." Beca thought, for the millionth time tonight. "What the fuck am I supposed to do now?"

She didn't have any money on her—having just come from stage—and when she had tried to call her mom upon first arriving at the station, it went straight to voicemail, meaning her mom was either on shift or sleeping. Either way, useless.

All of this, just for trying to protect her friends.

She was on the verge of tears, exhausted from a long day of travel and performing combined with this mess, when the officer came walking back and opened the door for her. She didn't move from her seat at first, thinking maybe he was just coming to talk to her again or bringing someone else in. "Rebecca Mitchell?" she stood "Someone's here for you."

"Becaw. Hey." Jesse breathed a sigh of relief, as he saw Beca turn the corner.

"What's up," She tried to sound cool, like she wasn't on the verge of an emotional breakdown only moments ago.

"Okay," the officer spoke from the other side of the desk. "So they aren't pressing charges. Insurance says they'll cover the damage to the window, and since it was an accident and you weren't intoxicated or recklessly belligerent, we're just letting you off with a warning. It won't go on your record or anything like that. Though, I would suggest maybe reaching out and apologizing to the venue". He said, handing Beca a few forms.

"Absolutely. Thank you". She nodded, relieved to finally get out of here.

"Have a good rest of the night." And with that, the pair turned to leave the station.

"Think I should get a teardrop tattoo to add to the collection?" Beca joked, hoping to downplay the seriousness of the situation.

Jesse laughed. "You were in there for like two hours. I don't think that warrants a prison stamp."

"I don't know, I think I could rock one," she shrugs, opening the first set of doors. "It would be ironic. You know, since I never actually cry", she teases, turning back to look at Jesse and pushing the second set of doors open with her back.

When she spun back around she was met with sight of her father. He was standing at the curb, hands firmly lodged in his pockets, jaw clenched, and a scowl etched on his face.

Panic flooded her body instantly. And then came the betrayal.

Jesse knew how rocky Beca's relationship with Warren was, and of his tendency to criticize Beca's life choices and decisions. If he thought her mixing was a waste of time, he certainly wasn't going to be too pleased with her getting arrested. _God, their relationship was just starting to mend itself._

Jesse knew better than to call him.

"You called my dad!?"

Jesse immediately recoiled, clearly feeling guilty. "They were putting you in handcuffs Bec. It looked pretty serious. I didn't know what else to do."

"That doesn't mean you call my _dad_ ", She hissed, turning to approach the man.

"Dad, it's not a big deal. I can explai—"

"Save it Beca", he bit back. "It is a big deal. I get a call telling me my daughter got arrested for destruction of property", he seethed.

"It was a misunderstanding," she reasoned. "I was protecting my friends. Putting myself out there. Making memories."

"If you think I'm paying for LA after you pull a stunt like this? Well, I'm not. Get in the car", he ordered.

"You're not even going to hear what I have to say?"

"Not tonight", he shook his head in frustration.

XXX

The drive back to campus was awkward to say the least.

Beca sat in the back with Jesse, while Warren drove the two back to Barden. It was silent, save for the quiet hum of the wheels as they drove.

Jesse kept looking to Beca, hoping to convey his apologies without speaking. But Beca kept her gaze fixed on the dark night sky as she stared blankly out the window.

She knew deep down that Jesse had only been trying to help her, but she wished he had figured out a way do to so without dragging her dad into it. She needed to calm down a bit before she could deal with her apologetic friend.

"Alright." Warren announced, as he pulled up to Jesse's dorm. His tone was short and clipped, an easy signifier that their 20-minute drive had done little to calm the man.

"Thanks for the ride, Dr. Mitchell", The boy said politely. Again, he smiled briefly at Beca, offering one final apologetic look, but the wound was too fresh and Beca wasn't having any of it.

"Have a good night, Jesse". Warren said, keeping things short.

Warren waited until Jesse was inside the building before driving on to drop Beca off. He didn't say any more until they reached Baker Hall, stopping out front to let Beca out and turning to his daughter with a tired expression.

Hearing the man sigh, Beca looked up at him from where her gaze had previously been locked on her hands. She felt like a little kid again, cowering in the corner after been caught drawing on the walls.

"Dad, I—"

"Not now Beca. It's late. I'm tired. I don't want to do this right now. All I'm going to say is that you know better."

Beca sunk further into the seat and simply nodded.

"I expect a call from you tomorrow to discuss this. Understood?" Again she nodded. "And your mother will be hearing of this", he said with a raised brow.

She wanted to roll her eyes at that. As if she hadn't already called her mom. But whatever, she knew better than to talk back right now.

"Bye Dad", she offered, moving to slide out of the car. "And, uhm…thanks for coming to get me", she mumbled back before closing the door.

XXX

Beca skulked back up to her room. Sure, she had gotten arrested, but it's not like she had actually done anything wrong. Okay, besides punching a guy. But he totally deserved it. And yet, in a matter of minutes, Warren had done a real number on her, convincing her she had eternally disappointed him and was now on the fast track to a life of crime or something.

Beca heaved out a sigh, and opened her room feeling utterly defeated.

"Hey!" Beca looked up to see the Bellas all huddled up on her bed.

Beca couldn't help but smile and offer a cool wave.

"What up Shawshank?" Amy cheered.

"Did you get yourself a bitch?" Cynthia Rose asked with an impish grin.

"Did they spray you with a hose?" Amy adds seriously.

"I did a turn at county", Lily whispered.

"You guys waited up for me?" Beca asked unsurely, touched that the Bellas cared enough to make sure she was okay.

"Of course we waited up for you", Chloe insists from her spot at the foot of Beca's bed.

"They've been here for hours. It was a real inconvenience, _Beca_ ", Kimmy Jin stated as she marched out of the room. Truth be told, Beca hadn't even noticed her strange roommate until just then. Woops.

When the door closed, Chloe bolted up from her seat and rushed over to start inspecting Beca. "How are you? Are you okay? Did they press charges? Are you—"

"Okay, ladies", Aubrey so rudely interrupted. "I'm calling an emergency Bellas meeting", the blonde informed, standing from her spot at Beca's desk to primly straighten out her shirt.

Chloe offered Beca an all to common look and tight lipped smile, knowing there was no use in fighting with her co-captain and spun around to direct her attention back to the blonde.

"Nooo", Amy whined quietly.

"First up, our score sheet revealed that The Sockapellas almost beat us. Fat Amy, you need to do it _exactly_ how we rehearsed it, okay?" the heavier girl nodded obediently. "No more surprises", Aubrey stated firmly.

"We should be taking risks. It's not enough to be good, we need to put ourselves out there. Be different." Beca offered with a shrug. "Sure The Sockapellas were horrible, but they were unique, memorable. That has to count for something."

"Beca's right. The Trebles never sing the same song twice." Cynthia Rose offered. Beca smiled graciously at the girl, who simply winked back and mouthed an "I got yo back" to the brunette.

"See", Beca insists, motioning back to Cynthia Rose. If Aubrey wouldn't listen to her, then maybe she would listen to one of the other girls. "The audience loves the Trebles. They tolerate us. Aubrey, we could seriously change the face of acappella", Beca practically begged. "Oh my God, what is happening to me. That sounded to queer balls", she mumbled to herself. Chloe bit back a laugh, instead bringing a hand up to run soothingly along Beca's back. Beca took the gesture as a small sign of Chloe's support, a silent little push to give her the confidence to stand up to Aubrey.

"Look, I've been working on this arrangement…" Beca said, walking over to her laptop and awakening it from its sleep. She quickly pulled up a file she had been working, one she knew would be perfect for their performance at Semi's.

Aubrey had moved out of Beca's way, scoffing in disdain when Stacie and Chloe eagerly followed behind the tiny brunette

"I didn't know you were into this stuff", Stacie lied, not wanted to give away the fact that she had been secretly helping Beca and Chloe all along.

"Okay, I have the pitch pipe", Aubrey suddenly spoke, clearly growing agitated by her girlfriends "newfound" interest in Beca's mixes. The blonde swallowed thickly and took a moment to compose herself. For a second there, Beca thought she might have to body block her precious mixing equipment from another Aubrey Posen puke party. But the girl seemed to calm down enough, though looking no less upset. And as much as Beca didn't like Aubrey, she could see a hint of hurt in the girl's eyes at Chloe and Stacie's apparent lack of support. But that still didn't give her the right to control everyone like they were her servants. "And I say that we focus on the set list as planned", the blonde said, this time, much softer.

Stacie scooted back from her spot hunched over Beca's shoulder, and moved to stand next to her girlfriend. Beca wasn't sure if Stacie saw the hurt in Aubrey's eyes, but the blonde seemed to relax slightly just having the other girl standing next to her.

Chloe gave Beca's shoulder a discreet squeeze as the rest of the girls trained their attention on their leader. "Sorry", the redhead mouthed to Beca, who just shrugged casually and spun around in her chair.

In truth, she wasn't so casual about the way Aubrey was so quick to dismiss her ideas. With the look of disappointment on her dad's face tonight, and now Aubrey's rejection, Beca felt as though she couldn't do anything right. And that stung no matter who it came from.

"From now on, there will be no more wasting time with work, or school, or boyfriends, or partners", Aubrey declared, and yes, Beca could definitely see Aubrey's military upbringing poking through right now.

"I don't know Aubrey…This stuff is pretty cool", Chloe said innocently, as if speaking too loudly or definitively would set the blonde off. "Beca's really good at mixing. She could make us a great set list. Way better than anything the Trebles have ever done." Beca could feel her cheeks growing red at the compliment.

"Okay, rehearsals tomorrow", Aubrey informed the group, ignoring Chloe's words altogether. "8 am sharp."

Chloe waited as the rest of the girls filed out of Beca's dorm, all offering their love for Beca and relief that she was alright after her run in with the Po-Po.

Chloe watched as Beca had to literally shove Amy out of the room, using all of her might to move the girl, as Amy babbling on about having to catch a rogue possum and that being her reason for ditching Beca at the scene.

Beca finally managed to push the girl far enough of of her room to be able to shut her door, turning back around with a huff to see Chloe sitting patiently on her bed.

The redhead patted the spot on the mattress next to her, inviting the other girl over. Not that she had to, it was Beca's bed after all.

"So…you're really okay?" Chloe asked softly, running her fingers down the side of Beca's face, as if to ensure she was still in tact.

"I'm fine. Tired. But fine."

"…How did your dad take it…?" Chloe asked nervously, darting her eyes away from Beca in guilt.

Beca figured Jesse must have told the girl. She wasn't mad at the boy so much any more as she was mad at her dad's reaction. He hadn't even given to the chance to explain. You would think as his child, he would have at least offered her the benefit of the doubt. But no.

Beca blew out a long breath. "About as well as you could expect I guess. He didn't say much really, though…Which I guess is good. Better to talk to him once he's cooled down a bit…All he said was that I should know better. Which means he expects better. Which means I disappointed him…yet again."

Chloe shifted to upright a little better, squaring her shoulders and forcing Beca to look at her. "Okay, I know no parent would be thrilled to hear their child got arrested. But regardless, you're not a disappointment Becs. You were doing a good thing by trying to help Jesse. Your dad will see that. Just give him time", she spoke surely.

"Thanks", Beca mumbled playing with her fingers in her lap.

"So", Chloe finally spoke after a long pause. "I don't know if it'll erase your criminal record or get Aubrey to listen to you, but I was thinking we could finally do that date of mine this week? You know, lift your spirits a bit?" She offered lightly, squeezing Beca's thigh reassuringly.

Beca looked up from her lap, a hint of a smile of her lips. "Yeah", she breathed, the very thought of spending the day with Chloe enough to brighten her mood.

"Yeah?" Chloe beamed.

"Yes, weirdo", Beca chuckled. "Now come on, I'm tired. Prison takes a lot out of a girl", she joked, pulling Chloe down with her as she lay back onto the bed.

The two snuggled up under Beca's covers, not caring in the slightest if they were still fully clothed. Beca was too exhausted to care at this point. All she wanted was to lie in her tiny twin bed, tangled up with her girlfriend, and sleep. She leaned over her nightstand, flicking off the light to let darkness envelop the room, before turning back and wrapping herself around Chloe.

"For what its worth, I'm proud of you", Chloe whispered up to the ceiling, feeling Beca cling a little tight to her before the two drifted off to sleep.


	12. Chapter 12

_Okay guys, here's the chapter you've all been waiting for!  
_

 _On a side note, I will be posting updates every friday now...or at least thats my plan. I now have a reserve of 4 chapters, so until i finsih all chapters I'm going to stick to posting one per week._

 _thanks again for all your support and dont forget to f/f and REVIEW!_

 _and thanks so much to my beta AngentVector, who has been so great i helping me edit these chapters :)_

 _song is Never say Never by the Fray_

 **Chapter 12**

The next Saturday, Beca was at Chloe's door, prepped at ready for their date.

Chloe had texted Beca earlier asking her to meet at Chloe's apartment at the given time, and to be dressed in her comfiest of clothes.

Beca didn't take the request too literally, since—technically—her comfiest piece of clothing was a fleece onesie her mom had bought for her two Christmases ago, complete with footsies and a hood. But she wasn't about to wear _that_ on a date with Chloe, so she stuck to a pair of yoga pants and a faded band t-shirt. She figured that based on Chloe's requested dress code they probably weren't going to be going out for the date, but if they did, at least she wouldn't look like a complete wreck.

She guessed her assumption correct when Chloe opened the door, wearing a pair of blue striped pyjama shorts and a simple white t-shirt. Her hair was down, framing her face in her natural waves, and while she didn't have a drop of makeup on, Beca felt blinded; like she had just looked straight into the sun. And to a certain extent, she had. Chloe was a fiery ball of life. Simply being around her made Beca feel warm, her smile gave light to Beca's day, and her laugh made her world spin right off it's axis.

"Hey!" Chloe beamed, slipping out of the apartment and closing the door behind her quickly. "You look cute", she offered by way of explanation for her odd behaviour.

Beca gave the girl a questioning look, confused as to why she wasn't immediately ushered into the redhead's apartment. "I thought we went over the whole cute thing, Beale" she said with her signature smirk.

"Yes", Chloe nodded. "And we settled on the fact that I think your cute", she grinned, tongue sticking out between her teeth.

Beca scoffed. "Yeah. Okay." She deadpanned. "So are you gonna tell me why we're standing in the hall? And in pyjamas?" she said motioning to Chloe's brightly colored shorts.

"Yes!" Chloe bounced like a toddler. "So I have a bit of a surprise for you…"

"If we walk in there and Aubrey and Stacie are getting it on, I will dump you. Straight up."

"Ew. No!" The redhead cringed. "Just…come" She said, pulling Beca in front of her, so that the brunette was standing face-to-face wit the door. "Okay. Close your eyes", Chloe instructed.

Beca did as she was told—for once in her life.

"They closed?" Chloe asked, waving her hand in front of the brunette's face to check.

"Yes, they are closed. Let gets on with the show, Red", Beca rolled her eyes internally.

"Okay", Chloe squeaked with anticipation. Beca could hear the door click as Chloe reached around her to open it, before the girl carefully guided her through the threshold. Beca moved carefully, stepping slowly and bracing her hands out for protection—the last time Beca let Chloe lead her blind she did walk her right into a door, after all.

"Alright…open." Chloe said quietly.

When Beca opened her eyes, there was Chloe, standing in front of her, eyes wide with anticipation, a smile tugging at her lips. The lights were off and the blinds were drawn, but the room was illuminated by the soft glow of fairy lights, delicately draped over what looked like an elaborate blanket fort in the middle of the living room. There were lights and blankets suspended from the ceiling (thanks to tape, Beca would assume), cascading down in a near perfect tent over the living room carpet.

"Well…?" Chloe asked nervously.

"This is so cool", Beca breathed, walking up to the fort as she studied the careful craftsmanship.

"Wait till you see inside," Chloe skipped forward, pulling Beca down to her knees and forcing her to crawl in with her. "Pretty neat, huh?" she asked, sitting back on her knees to look up at the draped fabric.

There was a layer of blankets spread across the floor in a fluffy pallet, a small coffee table sat in the centre, and a dozen pillows were strewn about along the perimeter of the fabric "walls". A small lamp sat in the corner and the fairy lights cast an orange glow across the fort, dotting the hanging sheets like stars in the sky. Chloe had a Bluetooth speak propped in the corner next to the lamp, and Beca watched as the girl crawled over to turn it on, letting the soft music fill the room.

"Holy crap," Beca coughed—clearly a real wordsmith. "How long did this take you?""

"Only like an hour or so", Chloe shrugged. "I used to make forts all the time when I was little. I'm kind of a pro", she jested while Beca continued to look around in awe.

"I know you said you haven't really been on many dates, so I wanted to do something special. At first I was going to cram in as many cheesy date things into one night as I could, but that didn't really seem like your kind of thing. Plus, with everything that happened at Regionals, I thought an easy night in might be a better idea…" When Beca looked back she could see the care in Chloe's eyes, the way her eyes softened when she spoke of Beca's past, how small with worry she looked at the mention of Regionals, and how wholly invested she was in making this a special night for Beca. "…and I love to make forts. So it was a win all around", she added with a smile.

"Yeah, no, definitely. This is amazing…and certainly a step up from the forts I used to make as a kid", Beca reassured.

"I had to up my game for you", the redhead winked. "Okay. Make yourself comfortable. I'll be right back."

Following her orders, Beca settled herself in amongst the hoard of pillows while Chloe crawled out, only to return a minute later.

"Okay. Step one of the date: food", the girl chimed, poking her head back through the fabric entrance, two plates of food in hand. Beca quickly reached out to grab one of the plates from the girl's wobbly hands as Chloe ducked into the fort. She set the food onto the conveniently placed table and laughed to herself as she watched Chloe scramble through the sea of blankets once again. The girl re-emerged a second later, this time, a bottle of wine in one hand, and two glasses in the other.

"Okay", Chloe exhaled, setting the glasses down on the table. "I guess I could have thought this through a little better. That wasn't as effortless as I thought it would be", she chuckled, pulling the cork from the wine and pouring their glasses.

"I don't know, I had a pretty great view of your ass." Beca teased.

"Oh, well good then. That's all that matters." Chloe feigned seriousness, before cracking into a giggle.

"Did you make all this?" Beca asked, cutting a piece of her chicken.

"Yeah. I'm usually more of a baker, but my mom walked me through this one. I haven't had any yet. So beware! It may look and smell edible, but you could still die".

"It's good, I think we're safe", the brunette offered, after swallowing her first bite. "Ten times better than anything I could make. Every time I try and make a frozen pizza, I end up burning the outside but the inside somehow doesn't even cook. My mom says I'm culinary challenged".

"Remind me to never have you cook me dinner", Chloe grinned.

"So where's General Posen tonight? It's a Friday night, shouldn't she be boycotting fun or something?"

"She's with Stacie", Chloe shrugs, taking another bite of her food. "I may have bribed her to give me the apartment for the night."

"Seriously?"

"Eh. It's only a week's worth of dishes. I was expecting worse", the redhead shrugged.

"God bless Stacie. I don't know how she does it."

"Aubrey would probably say the same for me and you", Chloe smirked.

"Pshh. I'm a gem".

"Yeah, okay", Chloe said with a sarcastic roll of her eyes. "Honestly, it was less work getting Aubrey to abandon this place than it was getting Amy to agree to keep Bumper out of her place for the night", she added with a shake of her head.

Beca chuckled. "How does Aubrey still not know?"

"No clue. It seems pretty obvious. But then again, Amy wont even admit they're dating…or hooking up…or whatever it is their doing" she shuddered at the thought.

"What does she say to Stacie then when Bumper's there all the time bumping uglies with her?"

"Do you thing that's how he got his name?!"

"Chloe. Off topic."

"Oh. Uhm…Stacie said she tells her Bumper is there to study or something. Even though I'm pretty sure Amy has never been to a class in her life. Either that, or she says she's going for a smoothie and comes back four hours later."

"Gross", Beca mumbled, drowning the thought with a sip of wine.

"Mmhmm", Chloe hummed in agreement. "Stacie said she has to walk into her place with her eyes closed just as a precaution."

"Yeah, I really don't know whose winning in that relationship", Beca chuckled under her breath.

"All I know is Stacie's losing. But then again, she can't really complain after all that I've had to endure with her and Bree. It's karma", the older girl teases.

"Yeah, I don't even want to know", the brunette shakes her head.

"Really?" Chloe wiggles devilishly in her seat. "You don't want to hear about the time I went to do a load of laundry and saw—"

"Lalalalala!" Beca stuck her fingers in her ears.

"Oh come on", Chloe laughed, "like you haven't seen Jesse in a compromising position?" she asked with raised brows.

"Dude! Gross! What the hell. No. don't put that picture in my head!"

Chloe doubled over in laughter, while the brunette busied herself with her food.

"He may have walked in on me once though…" Beca mumbled quietly, eyes focused on her plate.

"No way!?" Chloe shrieked.

"It was at a party. Sue me", Beca said dryly. "And I wasn't having sex or anything. I was just making out with a guy…but I happened to be shirtless", she added quietly.

"Beca Mitchell, at a party!? Someone call the press", Chloe threw her hands up.

"Seriously? That's what you got from that?"

XXX

After eating Beca helped Chloe take their plates to the sink. When they scrambled back into the fort Chloe pushed the coffee table out of the space and moved to turn the lamp off and the music up slightly.

With the lamp off, the tent was dark, lit only by the twinkle of fairy lights over head.

Chloe fluffed one of the many pillows before laying back to look up at the shadows of the lights. Beca silently lay down next to Chloe, neither one speaking, just letting the music fill the room with soft melodies.

 _Some things, we don't talk about_

 _Rather do without_

 _And just a smile_

Beca reached out, taking Chloe's hand in hers to play with the other girl's fingers—a habit she'd picked up since dating Chloe. "This is nice. Thanks for doing …all this" she said, motioning around them with her free hand.

Chloe rolled her head on her pillow and offered Beca a small smile, though her eyes didn't shine like usual.

 _Falling in and out of love_

 _Ashamed and proud of_

 _Together all the while_

"Hey, you okay?" Beca rolled onto her side to look at Chloe.

"Yeah", the girl faked a smile.

Beca cocked her head. "Chloe." She said firmly. "Something's off. I can tell."

Chloe inhaled a large breath before blowing it out slowly. Sitting up she looked at Beca with nervous eyes. "I'm sorry. I know I'm being weird. There's just something I haven't told you, and its eating me alive. I just don't want you to hate me."

"Why would I hate you?" Chloe…?" She asked, earning no response from the fidgeting redhead. "Chlo, your starting to scare me. Seriously, what's wrong?"

You can never say never while we don't know it

Time and time again

Younger now than we were before

"I know this is crazy, and I'm sorry for never brining it up with you, but I need to show you something", She sits up a little straighter, nervously grasping the hem of her shirt before pulling it over her head. Beca knows she should probably be more focused on the fact that her very beautiful girlfriend was semi-naked in front of her, but instead, her eyes bypassed Chloe's cleavage, and fixed themselves on the small black script partially concealed by Chloe's bra.

The redhead carefully shifted her bra up, so the the underwire was no longer covering the delicate marking.

There, in permanent ink, was the name "Rebecca", scrawled permanently across Chloe's ribcage.

Chloe brought her right hand up to self consciously run over the letters, as if checking the mark was in fact still there.

As if on autopilot, Beca reached out to move Chloe's hand and brush the tips of her fingers across the marking, a painful reminder that Chloe wasn't hers. Sure, the girl had been branded with Beca's name, but Beca had nothing to reciprocate.

Beca swallowed thickly, before looking up to meet Chloe's nervous gaze.

Don't let me go, don't let me go, don't let me go

Don't let me go, don't let me go, don't let me go

"I know I probably should have said something earlier", Chloe broke the silence. "But I liked you so much and I just didn't want to freak you out with something so heavy…Plus I couldn't bear the thought of you not having my name. I know it sounds selfish, but I wanted to hang on to you for as long as possible. I'm sorry."

Beca was at a loss for words. Here Chloe was, confessing her feelings for Beca and bearing all, and Beca had nothing to offer the girl; no reassurance, no relief, and no tattoo. For a moment it made her feel better knowing that Chloe had been feeling exactly what she had in not wanting to scare the other away, but the moment passed when Beca looked up to meet Chloe's expectant eyes.

She didn't want to lie to her, she really didn't. But she didn't want to lose Chloe forever either. She couldn't lie and say she had Chloe's name on her body, because Chloe would undoubtedly ask to see, and she didn't want to say she had someone else's name, because then Chloe would lose any remaining hope she had for their relationship. As much as Beca had been avoiding this, she knew she had only one option: she had to tell Chloe the truth. She deserved that much.

"Chloe," Beca said, her voice starting to crack. "I don't have your name", she whispered as tears formed in her eyes.

Chloe instantly deflated, as if Beca's words had shot a harpoon straight through her heart. "Oh", her eyes began to water.

"No", Beca backpedalled. "I didn't mean to say it like that", she shook her head in frustration. "Shit. I'm sorry. This is harder than I expected", she said as a tear slipped out. "I don't have a soulmate, Chlo. Not you, not anyone. I don't have a tattoo", the girl sniffled. "You have no idea how much I wished it was you, how many times I've gone back and checked my body for some sort of a marking. But every time is as disappointing as the last. I just don't have one…So you have nothing to be sorry about. At least you thought maybe I would have your name too. I knew form the very beginning I didn't have your name. So if any one should be apologizing its me. I did this. I led you on. And now I hurt you. I am so so sorry." Beca cried, finding it harder and harder to breath, the weight of everything she'd put Chloe through suddenly crushing her.

"Beca. Beca, stop. Breath" Chloe said, tears staining her cheeks. "It's okay. Its okay. You did nothing wrong. I've got you." Chloe soothed, wrapping the younger girl in a tight hug as she continued to shake.

"Look at me, Beca", Chloe said softly, detaching the brunette from her shoulder once she felt her sobs start to subside. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry I never told you about my tattoo. But I'm mostly sorry you've had to go through all of this alone. I have no idea how difficult that must have been, I can only imagine, but I'm so sorry you have to go through this. You don't deserve that. Nobody does." Chloe says honestly, wiping Beca's mascara streaks with her thumbs. "I don't care if you don't have a tattoo Becs. It doesn't matter to me. Your Beca. And that's all I need from you. That's all I want. You."

"You don't get it Chloe. I'm not meant to have someone. I'm meant to be alone. If I weren't I'd have a tattoo. I can't hurt you any more than I already have. You have someone out there waiting for you. I wont be the one to keep you from that."

"Just because you don have a tattoo doesn't mean your meant to be alone for the rest of your life. Maybe it's not a limiting factor. Maybe your free to love anyone. Who cares what a stupid marking says?" Chloe spoke with conviction.

"Everyone has one Chlo. No one has ever been born without one. I'm not special, I'm a freak. I don't have a tattoo, so I don't have a soulmate", Beca said through flooded eyes.

"You don't need a stupid tattoo. You don't need a soulmate Bec. You've got me. I've got you. I'm here and I'm not going anywhere. I don't care what you say or whether or not you have my name on your body, I'm here", Chloe grabbed the younger girl's hands. "And don't you dare give me some crap about hurting me", she scoffed. "Because the only way you could ever truly hurt me is by pushing me away. You're my best friend and I'm not going to lose you because of this. Okay?"

Call her selfish, call her stupid, but Beca believed Chloe. Despite knowing she could never have truly have Chloe, if Chloe wasn't running, Beca was going to hold on for as long as she let her.

Chloe was the first person to not freak out or judge Beca for her secret. And in the small line of people who knew, she was the first not to deny it or somehow turn it around and make the situation about them. She believed Beca, and she was there for her.

"Okay", Beca whispered before Chloe leaned forward to place an urgent kiss to the younger girl's lips.

"Wait here", Chloe said as they disconnected.

The girl turned and crawled out of the fort. Beca sat there, wiping the tear streaks from her face, as she listened to Chloe rustling around for something outside of their blanket sanctuary.

"Here", Chloe said, crawling back into the fort and sitting down cross-legged in front of Beca. "Give me your hand", she instructed, popping the cap to a blue pen.

In her neatest writing, the redhead gently scrawled "Chloe" in blue across Beca's right palm. "There", she smiled satisfied, gently lifting Beca's hand to place a soft kiss to her palm before closing it and placing it back down in Beca's lap.

"It's not the same Chlo…" Beca whispered sadly, wishing it were.

"It is what we make it", Chloe resolved, grasping Beca firmly and pulling her into a heated kiss. It was desperate and passionate, and conveyed everything either girl was feeling in the moment.

Beca clung to Chloe, never wanting to let go, as the redhead's lips moved against hers. She felt Chloe's hand leave her cheeks, before tugging at the hem of her shirt. Beca obliged, releasing her own hold on Chloe and allowing the girl to slide the shirt up her torso and over her head.

Chloe was quick to remove her own shirt, frantically ripping the garment off and tossing it aside before reconnecting her lips with Beca's.

The force of Chloe's lips on hers sent Beca tumbling backwards and into the mass of pillows.

Everything was a blur. With hands tangled in long red locks and lips seemingly sewn together, Beca wasn't sure when or how she and Chloe got so naked. But before long, Chloe was laying on top of her, mouth nipping and sucking along the curve of Beca's neck, in nothing but her thin lace underwear. Beca—in a similar state of undress—skillfully unclasped the older girl's bra before quickly flipping Chloe onto her back and pulling the garment free.

Eyes, usually bright and blue, were now dark with lust and need. Beca spared one solid kiss to the other girl's swollen lips, before ducking lower, until she was eye level with Chloe's cleavage.

Seeing the delicate marking perfectly clear and unobstructed, Beca felt her stomach flip. She leaned in to drop a line of soft kisses across the script, feeling Chloe's stomach muscles tighten and breath hitch, before she began a trail down Chloe's taught abdomen.

Soft kisses and heating touches, trailing over each other's bodies, until there were no barriers between them. Nothing, but lust and raw, unbridled devotion.

There was nothing left to hide. They had both exposed themselves fully to the other, emotionally and now physically. And in an instance where Beca should probably have felt bare and insecure, she had never felt so comfortable. When she was with Chloe, she felt safe; happy. And for now, that was enough.

XXX

When Beca woke the next morning, she opened her eyes to a sea of pillows and a mess of clothes.

Beca rolled over, feeling her joints pop and muscles ache as she stretched—whether from sleeping on the ground or the sex she couldn't be sure.

"Hey", a groggy voice said from beside her.

"Morning", Beca rasped Beca, throat hoarse from sleep.

"Turns out sleeping on the floor isn't as comfortable as it was when I was six", Chloe joked, shifting herself closer to Beca until they were practically nose-to-nose.

"You're telling me", Beca scoffed, massaging her shoulder for emphasis.

"Yeah, we probably should have moved to the bed at some point", Chloe said with a lop-sided grin.

"There was no way in hell I was moving anywhere after that. Seriously, I think that was more cardio than I've done all year for the Bellas", Beca groaned.

"Now _that's_ true", Chloe teased, bopping Beca on the nose with her finger.

"Uhm", Beca coughed nervously. "So, we're good right? We're okay…after...everything?" she asked quietly, nervous that once the sun rose, Chloe would see the light of day and run for the hills.

"Yes." Chloe smiled sympathetically. "We're better than ever", she said leaning in to offer Beca a reassuring kiss. "I'm not going anywhere", she breathed against Beca's lips. "Besides, if you haven't noticed already, I'm kind of hard to get rid of", she said comically.

"No kidding. I hadn't realized that", Beca rolled her eyes sarcastically.

"Mmmph", Chloe squeaked, sitting up to stretch. "Do you want coffee or something?"

"Yeah, sure."

XXX

After Chloe made them a pot of coffee, the two sat down at the kitchen island, mugs in hand and a plate of muffins Aubrey had apparently baked the day before set out by way of breakfast.

"Do you have work today?" Chloe asked, taking a sip of her coffee.

"Yeah. My shift starts at 1:00 I think", Beca mumbled through a mouthful of muffin.

"Oh my God", Chloe laughed. "You're going to choke and die. And I don't know the Heimlich maneuver, so good luck"

Somewhat impossibly, Beca managed to swallow her mouthful in one go, leaving Chloe stunned…and a little disgusted. "See, totally fine", Beca boasted.

"Sometimes I wonder about you…" Chloe laughed, shaking her head.

"What? Why I'm so awesome?" the brunette teased, flicking a crumb at the older girl. "I know, it's a real mystery", she shrugged. "Guess you really lucked out with me, huh?" she smirked, taking a sip of her drink.

"Oh, totes", the redhead giggled with a shake of her head. "I'm going to take a shower. When your done with your feast come find me", she pecked Beca on the cheek, before hopping off her stool and heading towards the bathroom.

"Would Aubrey kill me if I ate all of these?" Beca yelled after the girl.

"Yes."

"Okay, good. Just checking", Beca yelled back playfully, sliding off her own stool and depositing her dishes in the sink before trailing after Chloe.

XXX

When Beca entered the bathroom, Chloe was already in the shower, the room fogged with steam.

Beca shimmied out of her clothes, dropping them to the bathroom floor as quickly as she could. Though, she was really only wearing her shirt and pants—having just thrown them on to have coffee with Chloe. They didn't really know when Aubrey would be home, and the last thing Beca needed was for the blonde to walk in on her naked, drinking coffee in her kitchen. Sure, Beca liked to annoy the blonde, but she didn't have a death wish.

When Beca slid in, Chloe had her back to the girl, hands brushing the hair from her face as the water ran over her face.

"Hey", Beca said softly, not wanting to scare the girl.

"Is that a banana?" Chloe asked curiously when she spun around, noticing the yellow fruit in Beca's hand.

"Mmhmm", the brunette hummed around the fruit in her mouth.

Chloe couldn't help but laugh. "Did you seriously bring a banana into my shower? You know, if _that's_ what your looking for, I think your barking up the wrong tree, Becs. Trying to tell me something?" the girl teased.

"Yeah, I was a little confused after last night", the younger girl smirked, taking an exaggerated chomp of the banana.

"How are you still eating? You had like four muffins."

"Is that a fat joke, Beale?" Beca smirked playfully.

"Oh my god", the redhead rolled her eyes. "No", she laughed. "But seriously, where do you put it all? You're tiny!"

Beca shrugged, taking another bite. "My mom says I have a hollow leg. Maybe that's why my dancing sucks", the girl joked. "Wan' some?" she mumbled, tipping the fruit to Chloe.

Chloe gave a lop-sided grin before taking a small bite of her own. She swallowed the fruit quickly, before stepping forward to press her lips against the brunette's in a chaste but firm kiss.

"Yeah…I wont be needing this…" Beca mumbled between kisses, blindly tossing the banana out of the shower.

Deepening the kiss, Chloe pulled Beca tighter, spinning their positions so that the brunette was now standing under the spray of the hot shower.

Feeling the water cascade down her arms, Beca spared a glance down to her hand, where she could see the blue ink already beginning to fade under the steaming spray. Feeling her heart drop at the sight, Beca clenched her fist together, wishing that if she could just hold on a little tighter she wouldn't have to let it go; that it would be permanent.

XXX

"Hey tiny tot", Jesse called, as Beca strolled into the radio station.

"Don't call me that", Beca bit back dryly, before taking a seat next to the boy.

"What's got your panties in a wad?" Jesse teased, earning himself a swift smack to the arm. "Dude, Ow!" he whined.

"Can you not today?" Beca mumbled, flipping through a stack of CD's absentmindedly.

"Since when do you actually care if I give you a hard time? Isn't that sort of our thing?" He laughed, though under his teased tone there was a distinct air of concern. It certainly wasn't like Beca to back down from a jib or close up at Jesse's friendly taunting.

Beca sighed, pushing the CD's away, before sitting back in her chair and staring up at the ceiling. "I told her", she said simply.

Immediately, the boy sobered. "You did?" he asked, shocked that Beca had gone through with it. He knew how hard it had been on Beca keeping Chloe in the dark, but he also knew that telling the girl would be equally as difficult for his tiny friend. "What…what happened? What did she say?" He asked softly, not wanting to push the girl.

"Hers says Rebecca".

"Oh."

"Yeah", Beca sighed, rubbing at her eyes.

"So…is it over then?" He asked sadly.

"No. She said she doesn't care, that all she wants is me. I mean, how crazy is that?" Beca rambled off in disbelief. Jesse wasn't even sure if Beca was talking to him at this point, or just venting to herself. "And then we slept together. I mean…shit!" She lay her head in her hands, willing herself not to cry.

"This just makes things so much harder, Jesse", she said weakly, looking up at the boy with wet eyes. "I want her to be it so bad. But she's not. I'm not it for her. And I don't want to leave her, but how is that fair to her?"

"She knows you don't have one", Jesse explained, placing a gentle hand on Beca's shoulder. "She knows, Becs. You're not lying to her."

Beca sat back in her chair, blowing out a breath to let herself calm down.

"I know", she spoke after a pregnant pause. "I just don't want to hurt her. _I_ don't want to get hurt."

"Better to live with no regrets than to live safely Becs", Jesse offered with a grin.

"Thanks, Yoda", She rolled her eyes, smiling ever so slightly.


	13. Chapter 13

_Here's another chapter for you guys :)  
_

 _Don't forget to f/f and review!_

 **Chapter 13**

Before long, the Bellas were being loaded back onto their grimy old bus and on their way to Semi's.

Beca had extended the invitation to her dad, but with the competition taking place in Atlanta, he just couldn't make the two-and-a-half-hour drive with a class to teach the next morning. He had apologized profusely and wished them well, again promising that if they advanced he would try and make it to the next performance. Honestly though, if he couldn't make a two-hour drive within the state, Beca knew there was no way he would come to New York to watch them— _if_ they made it that far.

Despite their confessions, Beca and Chloe were still going strong. Beca did however, continue to struggle with the weight of everything that had been unveiled; enjoying every moment with Chloe, but still wracked with guilt over the potential harm she was inflicting—both to herself and the redhead. Chloe did her best though to ease Beca's worries, offering subtle reassurances and reminders of how important Beca is to her. And in the quiet moments while Beca mixed and Chloe studied, all of her worries seemed to fade away. When she was able to shut her mind off and just be with Chloe, Beca felt herself relax, comforted by the mere presence of the older girl. And so, in an effort to avoid her fears—and feeling—altogether, Beca found herself with Chloe more often than not.

After tiring Bellas rehearsals, they would stop to grab a quick coffee or smoothie, before retiring to one of their rooms to listen to music or watch trashy shows on Netflix. On other days, they would meet for lunch or in between classes, sneaking in as much time together as their busy schedules allowed. Chloe even managed to drag Beca to the occasional campus party. In return, the redhead would surprise Beca with dinner or an impromptu coffee at the station, a welcome distraction on the nights Beca worked alone.

It was easy and comfortable, an intimacy Beca had never felt before. Beca found herself opening up to Chloe and sharing things she had never said aloud before. From her parent's divorce, to her horrid high school years, to her embarrassing obsession with Rick Astley in the sixth grade, she shared everything with the older girl. And Chloe did the same—though, to be fair, Chloe was pretty much an open book with everyone. But still. There was a definite level of trust between the two, both as friends and now as girlfriends.

Chloe had even told Beca one night, after one particularly rousing party, that she had set a tentative surgery date, just in case the Bellas didn't advance after Semi's. Chloe hadn't even told Aubrey about the surgery. The only people who knew, were Chloe's parent's and Beca. Just Beca.

It made Beca's head swim every time she thought of that. Besides Jesse, she had never been anyone's confidant. Hell, besides Jesse, she had never even been anyone else's friend.

She wondered now, as she stepped onto the bus, if Chloe had told Aubrey yet. She knew Chloe didn't want to add to the blonde's stress or make her think she was betting against the group, but Aubrey was still Chloe's best friend. They were practically sisters. And as much as Chloe was looking out for Aubrey, Beca knew the redhead needed her best friend sometimes too.

So as someone who knew how stressed Chloe was herself, and how scared she was about the surgery, Beca couldn't help but feel like they needed to win today. If anything, then to push her girlfriend's misery back even a little. If Aubrey couldn't be there to help Chloe, Beca was damn sure going to step up.

Plus, as much as she hated to admit it, she was beginning to really care for their little group of misfits. And she didn't want that to be over just yet. She had never had a group of friends before, much less ones who were all girls—her only true friend over the years being Jesse. With the exception of Aubrey, it finally felt like she had people there supporting her, real, genuine friends. She was beginning to feel like she belonged.

"Alright ladies. We have a long drive ahead of us. I don't care what you have to do—meditate, sleep, listen to some music—but when we pull up to that theatre I want you all rested and ready to perform! Got it?" Aubrey said from the front of the bus.

A chorus of "okay's" and "yes'" followed, mixed in with a "yes sir" from Fat Amy.

"Alright Amy, pedal to the metal!" Chloe cheered from her seat.

"Buckle up flat butts!" the Aussie hollered back, honking the horn a few times before starting the engine.

"Amy, if you get a speeding ticket, it's coming out of your pocket!" Aubrey shrieked.

"Here, read your book babe", Stacie chuckled, shoving a textbook in the blonde's face.

"I did a tour on the Indi circuit", Lily whispered from behind Beca, the brunette whipping her head around in fear.

XXX

"Alright ladies, I'm just gonna pump and dump", Amy called as she stepped off the bus.

According to Aubrey's very detailed travel itinerary, the girls had ten minutes to stop and refuel the bus, grab a few snacks, and use the restroom, before they continued on their journey.

The blonde had made it _very_ clear that she didn't want to have to make any unnecessary stops along the way, stating something about her father and punctuality. Beca wasn't really paying attention. Instead, while Ashley and Stacie ran off to stock up on snacks and Lily muttered something about needing fireworks, Beca slid her headphones on, cranked up the volume, and waited with the rest of the girls on the bus.

With her headphones on and eyes closed, Beca didn't even hear Chloe hop up from her seat across the isle and plop herself down next to the brunette. At least, not until someone pulled a headphone from her ear, whispering a cheery "Hi!".

"Uhm…hello?" Beca said, cocking her head as she looked at the expectant redhead now seated next to her. The girl tugged her headphones off, letting them rest around her neck and paused the song currently blasting from their speakers, offering Chloe her undivided attention.

"I love road trips", the redhead beamed, shifting so that she was more comfortable in her seat.

"Never really been on one", Beca shrugged. "Unless you count my taxi ride to Barden".

Beca saw Chloe's brows furrow at the statement, only to recover a moment later with a face splitting grin. "My parents used to take us on a road trip every summer. We did Disney a few times—but that doesn't really count since its not that far from Tampa—and Hilton Head when I was twelve, Nashville, and one year we even drove all the way up to Michigan for the summer", Chloe spoke, as if she could supplement Beca's inexperience with her own memories. It was another habit the girls had adopted in their relationship and was one Beca sometimes saw Chloe use with Aubrey.

Where Chloe had sibling rivalries and Sunday dinners, Beca had microwave meals alone and her mixing board. Where Beca skipped prom—in lieu of not being asked and "it being totally lame"—Chloe went to four, securing prom queen at two—including her own. Where Beca spent summers working, Chloe set off on cross-country road trips and summer camp. Their lives were near polar opposites. And while Beca tried not to dwell on the things she missed out on as a child, when Chloe spoke of her own experiences, it didn't make Beca sad or resentful. In fact, quite the contrary, it made her happy. It was as if Chloe's positivity was contagious and her memories of family reunions and dance class could be transferred to Beca simply through their retelling.

But before Beca could respond, there was a loud thud against the back of the bus and Amy's voice rang out, screaming "I've just been shot!"

In an instant, Beca was up from her seat, telling Chloe to stay there while she and Cynthia Rose raced past Aubrey and down the stairs of the bus.

"I've just been shot! Man down!" Amy hollered, rolling around on pavement while licking what looked like salsa from a large stain on her shirt. "Bumper threw a big ass burrito at me! I need backup!" She continued to shout, "and maybe some sour cream".

XXX

After getting Amy cleaned up in the gas station bathroom and changed into a fresh shirt—thanks to Aubrey's smart planning—the girls loaded back onto the bus and set off for Semi's, a fire for redemption burning strong.

They had spent longer than allocated at the gas station—thanks to Bumper's burrito sabotage—but, thankfully Aubrey—in her finest form—had allotted an extra thirty minutes to their drive, just in case of traffic or the Bellas…well, being the Bellas.

Now that they were all cleaned up, they could get back on track.

The girls had all resumed their seats on the bus; Jessica and Ashley could be heard studying for a Political Science test in the very back seat, while Denise was asleep in the row across from them, Cynthia Rose looked to be scrolling through her phone, and Lily was fiddling with her computer and silently whispering to herself (about what? Beca doesn't even want to know). Chloe had moved back to her seat when the bus started up again, and was now humming along to whatever sickly sweet pop song was currently playing from her iPod. Aubrey and Stacie were in front of her, the brunette doing her best to distract the tense blonde.

"…I hopped off the plane at LAX with a dream and my cardigan", Chloe sang to herself.

"Welcome to the land of fame excess, woah, am I gonna fit in", Cynthia Rose immediately joined in, Chloe turning to the girl with an impressed grin.

"Jumped in the cab, here I am for the first time", Amy belted out, as Jessica and Ashley joined in as well.

"This is all so crazy, everybody seems so famous", Stacie and Aubrey sang to each other, the brunette dancing in her seat.

"Look to my right and I see the Hollywood sign", Chloe sang, turning to look at Beca, the brunette stubbornly avoiding the other girl's gaze.

"This is all so crazy, everybody seems so famous" the group sang, Chloe inching closer and closer in her seat to the silent girl.

The rest of the group had finally caught on to Chloe's actions, and were now all crowding the small girl, musically assaulting her with Miley Cyrus. Even Aubrey looked to Beca to join in. Beca just scoffed and crossed her arms stubbornly across her chest, doing her best to ignore the persistent group of girls.

"My tummy's turnin' and I'm feelin' kinda home sick

Too much pressure and I'm nervous,

That's when the taxi man turned on the radio

And a Jay-Z song was on

And a Jay-Z song was on…"

"And a Jay-Z song was on", Stacie sang, leaning over onto the smaller girl's seat expectantly.

"Come on Becs, this is all part of the road trip experience!" Chloe pleaded, breaking out the puppy dog eyes.

"Fuck it", Beca thought to herself.

"So I put my hands up…", the brunette belted out, rolling her eyes to herself as she sang along.

"They're playing my song,

The butterflies fly away

I'm noddin' my head like yeah

Movin' my hips like yeah

I got my hands up,

They're playin' my song

I know I'm gonna be OK

Yeah, it's a party in the USA

Yeah, it's a party in the USA" the girls chanted.

…And then the bus started to putter before coming to a rolling stop. "So much for Aubrey's precious schedule", Beca thought to herself.

They were stopped on the edge of the highway, and surrounded by nothing but farm fields. The last exit had been at least five miles back, and judging by the rolling fields, it didn't look like there was another one anywhere close by. They were only an hour out from Atlanta and had to be checked in and ready to perform in an hour and a half. But with a broken bus, there was no telling how long it would take for them to get there now.

"What the hell?!" Aubrey asked, panic immediately overcoming her.

"Whoa, it a…just looks like we're outta gas…" Amy mumbled nervously.

"That can't be right. You just filled the tank" Aubrey said, face turning red, throat constricting with nerves. Beca suddenly had an idea how those people in the front row felt when Aubrey spewed her lunch all over them. The brunette was beginning to think she'd have to duck and cover if Aubrey got any more upset.

"Yeahhh…except maybe I didn't because I got hit with flying Mexican food…"

"You can't be serious?! It'll take forever for AAA to get here. We could miss the competition!" the blonde seethed, frantically pacing the length of the bus.

"You guys, we could call—" Chloe offered with an air of optimism.

"Don't even say it, Chloe!" The blonde snapped, cutting the redhead off.

"No, that actually is a really good idea. Here, I have Bumper's number", Amy said, patting her pockets for her phone.

"Why do you have Bumper's number!?" Aubrey gawked.

"Uhmmm….uhhhhh…you see…uhhmmm…"

"Here", Beca interjected. "I can just call Jesse. He'll get them to come pick us up."

"Nice save, DJ B", Amy whispered, punching Beca—a little too hard—in the shoulder.

XXX

"Thanks for picking us up", Chloe said cheerfully, the Bellas now carpooling with the Treble's.

Sitting on the plush bench, Beca couldn't help but notice how different The Treble's bus was from the Bellas'. To put it simply, it looked like a strip club on wheels—complete with a tacky disco ball and shag-carpet throughout—and smelt like a men's locker room. Beca nearly choked on laughter when she saw Aubrey pull out a wet wipe to clean off her seat. _Like that's going to clean this frat house on wheels._

"Seriously, what kind of douche-donut uses a perfectly good burrito as ammunition?" Amy shoved Bumper.

"It's the least we could do. Bumper was kind of the reason you ran out of gas…" Donald shouted from his position behind the wheel.

"Pshh. Whatever. It was hilarious", Bumper scoffed. "You're just lucky I need you there to see the look of defeat on your sorry faces when we win. Otherwise, we would have left your sorry asses on the curb like the garbage songs you sing. Speaking of which, what boring estrogen filled set have you prepared for us today?" he taunted.

"That's a load of asshole casserole. Prepare to eat your words!" Amy yelled, slapping her stomach with both hands.

XXX

 _"My baby's always dancin'_

 _And it wouldn't be a bad thing_

 _But I don't get no lovin'_

 _And that's no lie_

 _We spent the night in Frisco_

 _At every kind of disco_

 _From that night I kissed our love goodbye…"_

"Where did he come from?" Stacie asked aloud, the rest of the Bellas standing dumbfounded by the Footnote's dynamic lead vocalist.

"It's over. There's no way we can beat the Footnotes _and_ the Treble's", Amy exclaimed, eyes wide at the boy's impressive footwork.

 _"Don't blame it on the sunshine_

 _Don't blame it on the moonlight_

 _Don't blame it on good times_

 _Blame it on the boogie"_

"Well, well, well…Looks like mini Michael Jackson up there just nailed your coffin shut, huh Aubrey? About time too, your garbage sets have done nothing but attract vermin", he says motioning to the rest of the Bellas, "to the well respected world of acappella".

"Oh, suck a fat one, Bumper. You're straight from the petting zoo", Stacie sniped back, lunging at the boy, who instantly recoiled and scurried away.

Yeah, this definitely wasn't part of Beca's plan. Amy was right, there was no way their dull routine could even compete with the Footnotes or the Trebles.

But they had to advance, they just had to. Beca wasn't ready for the Bellas, Chloe, any of of to be over just yet. She wasn't sure how, but she was going to save the day.

"Enough! Aca-huddle, now!" Aubrey yelled with a powerful clap of her hands. "The top two teams go to the finals. We just have to beat _one_ of them". She said, as if reassuring herself more than anyone else. "If we do it exactly as we rehearsed, we will get there. Amy, that means no surprises. Got it?"

"Aubrey, come on. There's no way our set's gonna beat the Footnotes, much less the Trebles", Cynthia rose said honestly.

"People appreciate the classics." Aubrey defended sternly." We're like a fine wine"

"Kool Aid isn't meant to sit, Aubrey", Beca challenged pointedly.

"I'd still drink it", Amy shrugs.

"Places, ladies!" Aubrey barked through clenched teeth, ignoring Beca—per usual.

Chloe just offered Beca a tight lipped smile and sympathetic pat to the back before she was ushered away and onto the stage.

It was frustrating when Chloe didn't stand by Beca in her battle against Aubrey. Sure, she supported Beca and wanted their set list changed just as much, but Aubrey was her friend too, and so their feud put her in an uncomfortable position. On top of that, Aubrey wasn't just her friend, she's her co-captain. Which, as the redhead had told Beca countless times meant respecting Aubrey's leadership decisions and presenting a united front to the rest of the group.

Beca thought it was a load of crap. Either their set list sucks or it doesn't, end of story…and theirs most definitely does. So why couldn't Chloe just tell Aubrey that?

But it was too late to dwell on that now, right before they were set to take the stage. And unless they wanted a repeat of last year, Beca knew Chloe wouldn't do anything to further aggravate the blonde right now. Besides, what were they going to do, change their set minute before performing? There was nothing they could do now, but go out there and hope for the best.

But that wasn't enough for Beca. She knew that if Aubrey had just listened to her from the start and used one of her mixes, they could have had a real shot at not just placing, but winning this thing.

That's it.

She knew what she was going to do.

Aubrey would see, one way or another.

XXX

As the audience once again started dosing off during their performance of "I Saw the Sign", Beca knew she had to act fast, and in time, if she was going to salvage their set.

She saw her opening. With the transition coming up, she knew she could execute her plan. It was the perfect moment; her one shot. This was her chance. Her moment to prove Aubrey wrong. To save the Bellas. This was her moment to shine. Then everyone would see; her dad, Aubrey, everyone, would see how wrong they had all been about her. And so, with a steadying breath and internal "fuck it", Beca deviated from her assigned vocals, and began to sing.

"This time baby, I'll be bulletproof…"

She saw Chloe look back at her briefly, confused as to what her girlfriend was doing. Amy stumbled slightly in her footwork beside her, struggling to remain on beat and in tempo with Beca's alternate performance. The rest of the girls looked equally as stunned, though quickly masked their confusion with cheery grins.

Aubrey, on the other hand looked simultaneously pissed as hell and like she might break down and cry at any moment…or barf (you never know). Her performance face was on, doing her best to keep up appearances, but her eyes showed everything. At every opportunity she got, she didn't hesitate to shoot Beca a dangerous glare, probably preparing herself so that If she did blow chunks, she would already be aimed at her ideal target.

But on the bright side, while her teammates all looked slightly dishevelled, the audience finally looked interested—though, Beca didn't know if that was from her mashup or the palpable tension on stage. Either way, she figured at least they would be memorable…better that than have the judges sleep through their set.

XXX

"What the hell, Beca?!" Aubrey roared, leading the group off stage. "Were you _trying_ to screw us up?"

"Are you serious?" Beca scoffed incredulously. _Of course Aubrey wouldn't see the good she'd just done_

"News flash, this is the Beca show", the blonde seethed, face turning red with frustrated anger.

"Okay, im sorry I messed you up. But in case you hadn't noticed everyone pretty much dozed off during our set", Beca defended, a little shocked by the blonde's reaction.

"It's not up to you to decide what we do and when we do it. Why don't you ask the rest of the group how they felt about your little improvisation?"

The rest of the Bellas just shuffled in place awkwardly, most refusing to meet Beca's desperate glance.

She wanted to look to Chloe for support, but she knew this was exactly the kind of monkey-in-the-middle bullshit Chloe had been trying to avoid. Plus, even if Chloe were to defend her, that's kind of playing the girlfriend card...not much strength there.

Then there was Stacie, who despite supporting Beca and Chloe's plan to slowly convince Aubrey to change their set list, was now sinking in with the rest of the Bellas. At least _she_ had an excuse, though. She _was_ Aubrey's girlfriend. And seeing how upset the blonde was right now, Beca knew the girl probably wouldn't side with her.

So, Beca figured her best bet was to look to Amy for backup, the girl who had previously gone rogue on Aubrey's leadership. Maybe she would understand why Beca did what she did.

"Amy?" Beca almost pleads.

"It was cool. But…it may have taken us a little by surprise", She says carefully, watching Aubrey for a reaction through her peripheral.

"Yeah, a lot by surprise" the blonde scoffs.

"Mmm, a little", Amy shrugs.

"I told you she wasn't a Bella" Aubrey spits harshly.

"Aubrey, don't", Chloe said softly, finally jumping in to diffuse the situation.

"No, that's okay. You don't have to pretend your allowed to have a say in the group, right?" Beca bites back sarcastically, clearly hurt by Aubrey's reaction and now Chloe's calm silence. It made Beca feel like she was being belittled and abandoned all at once

"As my father always says, if you can't follow orders, dig your grave now. Well, you've certainly dug yours deep enough, _Beca",_ the blonde said with a disproving glare.

Beca glances to Chloe one last time, a silent plea for any sort of support, but the redhead just looks stuck. Beca shakes her head and scoffs, "If this is what I get for trying…", she says before turning around and storming off.

"Aubrey, it actually went really well…" Chloe tries to reason with her co-captain.

"Chloe. Stop!" the blonde shrugs the girl off, turning to walk off I the opposite direction.

XXX

"Hey, Bec. Where are you going?" Jesse asks cheerfully as Beca passes him in the hall, the boy oblivious to the massacre that had just taken place.

"I'm done", She said firmly, continuing to storm off down the hall.

"Jesse! You guys are up!" Benji yells, running over to usher Jesse onto stage.

"Uhm, yeah…okay." He mumbles absentmindedly, watching over his shoulder to see Beca walking off. "Can you do me a favor though?"

The boy nods, "anything for a noble Treblemaker".

"Can you follow Beca out? Make sure she doesn't do something stupid?"

"Your wish is my command", Benji nods, turning to run after the girl.

XXX

"What the hell was all of that?", Stacie breathes, coming up to stand next to Chloe, the redhead anxiously tapping her fingers against her side.

"What?", chloe asks, too distracted to really hear what Stacie had said.

"Chloe, you basically threw your girl to the wolves there."

"What was I supposed to do? Beca is my girlfriend but Bree is my best friend."

"You could have said something more", Stacie says obviously. "Come on. I don't care how wrong Aubrey is, if someone is going off on her, I'm at least going to step up and say _something"._

"So then why didn't you say something? Why is it all _my_ fault?" Chloe asks, offended by Stacie's accusations.

"She's not my girlfriend. I have loyalties elsewhere", the brunette said simply.

"She wasn't right though. I mean, sure our set kind of sucks, but that doesn't mean you can just change it mid-performance…and without telling any of us. Things could have gone really badly out there", Chloe says, defending her actions.

"Yeah, but you know why she did it, right?" Stacie asks rhetorically. "It's not like she was trying to make us lose. In her mind I'm sure she thought she was doing the right thing. Contrary to what Bree says, _I_ think she was thinking of the group up there and not just herself. You're a captain too, Chloe. You have a voice in this group. Yeah, okay maybe I could had spoken up, but you should have said something. As both her girlfriend and her captain" the girl said eloquently.

"I'm just saying, Chlo", Stacie shrugged softly, patting the girl lightly on the shoulder to show she wasn't truly mad at her. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have a very beautiful blonde to go talk off the ledge".

XXX

"Beca! Beca wait!" Benji called, the girl ignoring his cries and continuing towards a line of awaiting cabs.

"Beca, stop", Benji said out of breath, managing to finally catch up to the girl. She may be small, but damn is she fast when mad. "Beca, where are you going? Jesse's worried about you".

"You can tell Jesse I'm fine. I'm going home. I'll text him after", she said shortly, muscles tense and body rigid with betrayal.

Benji doesn't look so sure though, unsure of whether or not to let Beca get in the cab and go, or if he should body block her and drag her back inside.

"I'll be fine Benji. I'm a big girl", she says, walking past the boy and opening the door to the cab.

"Your going be okay, right?" he asks genuinely, leaning down into the bench of the car

Beca nods silently, hoping her expression wasn't nearly as glum as her heart right now.

"Okay…Just text him please", Benji relents. "And here…" he smiles, magically pulling a rose from thin air, "you were great tonight", he offers.

"…thanks" Beca offers a forced smile, taking the rose appreciatively and signaling the driver off.

XXX

"We can't just leave without her", Chloe argued as Aubrey ushered the girls back onto their own bus—AAA having filled the tank and driven it over.

"She's not here. We haven't seen her since her little meltdown. We. Are. Going".

Chloe scoffed and rolled her eyes at her friend's insensitivity.

They had wound up placing third. Of course that meant they didn't advance to the finals—a devastating pill for Aubrey to swallow—but their score card had shown Beca's impromptu mashup hadn't lost them points, in fact it's what bumped them from fourth place up into third—an even harder pill for Aubrey to swallow. But of course, the blonde didn't care how well they had place in comparison to the other teams, all she cared about was that they hadn't advance. And in her eyes, that was a loss. As her father always says, "if you aren't first, you're an embarrassment" she had told the group, upon hearing their rank.

"Amy! Hey, keep the doors open", Jesse called, running up to the bus full of exhausted girls.

"Trebles aren't permitted on this vehicle", Aubrey glared at the boy.

"Aubrey, stop", Chloe scolded, moving around the blonde to meet the boy at the front of the bus.

"Beca texted me that she took a bus back to Barden. Just thought you guys should know in case you were waiting for her".

"We weren't", Aubrey chimes from behind the redhead.

" _Yes._ We were" Chloe says, turning back to the blonde. "Thanks for letting us know Jesse." She says softly. "Uhm…did she text you from her phone?"

"Yeah…"

"Oh. Okay…I've just been trying to text her for a while now and she hasn't responded".

"She just needs some time too cool off. Give her time", He offered sympathetically, knowing exactly how guarded his friend becomes when she feels threatened.

"Okay. Thanks again", Chloe says dejectedly, knowing she had screwed up in how she had handled the situation.

"No problem. And good night ladies. You were great tonight", he said genuinely.

"Off. Now", Aubrey pointed to the door.

XXX

Beca was hoping the bus ride home would give her time to clear her head, to calm down, and to not feel so hurt. But, all it did was make her angry.

She was mad. Mad at Aubrey, mad at Chloe. Mad no one could see how she was only trying to help, to save their performance. Hell, when Amy did her little freestyle, she only received a small verbal lashing from Aubrey while the other girls rallied behind her and laughed it off. Why hadn't Beca been afforded the same luxury? But most of all, she was mad at herself. Mad for letting herself get so attached, for thinking she could change Aubrey's mind, for thinking she belonged. She had let herself get too comfortable, too vulnerable, and now she was paying for it.

Maybe she had been right all along, it's better—safer—to keep her walls up. At least in her fortress of isolation she wouldn't get hurt like this.

Beca felt her phone vibrate again. Looking down, she her screen lit up with 16 missed texts from Chloe, 5 missed calls, and even 2 emails. "Oh, so now, you have something to say?" Beca said to herself, before swiping to delete the messages, not even bothering to read them first.

She needed to distance herself from Chloe. She didn't know how to deal with these emotions, and she didn't want to have to hurt anyone anymore—much less herself. Aubrey was right, she had dug her own grave. She had already fallen in too deep, and now she had to try desperately to cling to the sides and keep from falling in even further.


	14. Chapter 14

_Another one for the books._

 _P.S. I have the entire story written now, it's just waiting for editing. So I may start to stray from my Friday posts and post more frequently._

 _Hope you enjoy. Let me know what you think!_

 **Chapter 14**

It's been going on two weeks of the silent treatment. Without the pull of the Bellas, Beca hadn't seen or spoken to Chloe since she stormed off at Semi's.

Chloe had texted her nearly non-stop following the fight, but Beca had just ignored her. She finally caved and texted Chloe two days later, after Chloe threatened to come banging down her door to make sure she was still alive, simply telling her she was fine and to please give her some space.

Chloe was trying to respect that, letting Beca deal with this however she needed to. But that doesn't mean she hasn't sent the occasional text to check in on the girl. She did still care for her after all. And in her mind, they were still girlfriends…or at least, she hoped they were…you kind of have to be speaking to the person for them to be dating you.

Beca for the most part shrugged off Chloe's texts same as she had the night of Semi's, but whenever the girl seemed particularly worried about Beca's wellbeing, she would shoot out a quick response, though offering little more than an "I'm fine" to appease the girl. Beca figured that with spring break starting in a few days though, maybe Chloe would finally give up.

Beca had been planning to go home for the break and get some much needed rest and relaxation. But when Luke—the station manager—offered her full reign of the station for the week, including full discretion to play her own tracks and pay, she couldn't refuse. Plus, she figured that with Kimmy Jin away for the holiday, she could get just as much rest in her dorm as she would at home. Her mom had been a little upset when she told her she wouldn't be coming home for the break, but when all was explained, she fully understood. After her little run in with the law at Regionals, Beca still wasn't entirely sure her dad would be paying for LA, so she had to start building a backup fund, just to be safe.

XXX

Beca unlocked the door to the station, walking past the rows of dusty shelves and stacks of vinyl records, before coming to stand by the booth. She stopped at the entry briefly, just looking around, admiring the soundboards and mics that would be _hers_ for the next week.

She was so excited. This was her chance to have her music played—and possibly heard. Sure, it was only on a mediocre college station—during break, no less—but it was something.

All she wanted to do was share this moment with Chloe. But she knew she couldn't. She knew she shouldn't. That this was what was best. And Chloe must think so too, because the girl had stopped trying to contact Beca. No texts, no phone calls, no emails, for nearly a week now.

But that was good, right? This was what Beca wanted.

Still, she couldn't help but feel empty without the redhead in her life.

Shrugging off her backpack, Beca slumped into the chair and pulled a pair of headphones over her ears before flicking the switch and watching the "on air" sign come to life.

This was where she belonged.

XXX

After a long day at the station, cooped up in the 10x10 booth with nothing but her headphones and the soundboard to keep her company, Beca locked up for the night and headed back to her dorm. She stopped along the way to pick up Chinese, starving after having only eaten breakfast and a power bar all day.

It was quiet as she walked back to her dorm. The usually sounds of kids chatting, feet shuffling, and the dull thump of a bass from that night's party, now replaced by dead air and the sound of crickets chirping. The usually bustling Baker Hall common area, now vacant—no one there to fight over TV channels or play endless rounds of beer pong.

Upon arriving back at her room, Beca was met with the same silence. Though, to be fair, her room was usually pretty quiet, given that Kimmy Jin rarely did so much as acknowledge her presence. Kicking her shoes off and dropping her bag by the door, Beca moved to set her food down on her desk, plucking her phone from her back pocket and dropping it alongside the takeout. She plopped herself down into the accompanying chair and opened the paper container, releasing the wafting scent of fried rice into the air, before reaching around to turn her computer on.

Despite her free schedule, Beca had been having a hard time with her mixes lately, finding herself growing frustrated far too easily and struggling to blend songs as effortlessly as she was used to. _Perhaps it was some sort of Freudian karmic retribution._

Waiting for her computer to load, Beca shoveled a spoonful of rice into her starving mouth, staring thoughtfully out the window as she ate. It had long turned dark outside, and without the usual hustle and bustle she had come to associate with Barden, the campus just felt so desolate; the picture an eerie reflection of her inner turmoil. Ironic isn't it? Windows, meant to allow a clear view through, to see beyond oneself, only to reflect back an image of Beca's inner psyche.

And in an odd turn of events, Beca found herself appreciating the place for the first time since arriving in the fall. As if, despite all that had happened over the past seven months, and all that had gone so horribly wrong, maybe some good had come from all of this…even if it hadn't lasted.

A small chime could be heard, her phone lighting up with a calendar notification she had made a few weeks back. Broken from her thoughts, Beca looked down to see the banner read, "Chloe's surgery", a painful reminder that the girl was scheduled to have her nodes removed the following afternoon.

Beca had originally planned on going with Chloe to her surgery, the girl opting for a doctor near Barden rather than in Florida—just in case there were complications following the removal, she would then be close to her surgeon. Plus, who wants to fly after surgery? Talk about uncomfortable.

It hadn't even occurred to Beca that Chloe would still be on campus during the break. Some sort of sick joke that the two of them should be alone together in the confines of Barden, while the rest of the world went off without them.

Beca had been doing a good job of distancing herself from Chloe the past few weeks. Or rather, a good job of ignoring the girl—she could never truly distance her mind from the bubbly redhead. But seeing the notification was just too much.

An instant wave of sadness flooded the small girl's body, and then regret, and then guilt came rolling on in to join the party. Guilt was her biggest tormentor though.

She knew she had to distance herself from Chloe, for fear of hurting them both even more, but she also knew there was a very good chance the redhead would be going through surgery alone—Beca figuring she probably still hadn't told Aubrey, and even if she had, the blonde probably gone back home for the break.

She couldn't focus, she couldn't think, her mind racing a mile a minute, as she tried to figure out what to do. Should she call Chloe, send her a "good luck on your surgery" text, continue ignoring the girl? She just didn't know. And it was eating her alive.

What she wanted right now was her mom. Some good ole parental guidance.

Without a second thought, Beca unlocked her phone and dialed her mom's cell. It rang a few times, and just when Beca thought she might not get an answer, her mom picked up.

"Hello?" a tired voice came through.

"Hey mom", she tried to sound as normal as possible.

"Beca, sweetie. Hi. What's wrong?" she asked, sounding a little more awake.

"Nothing. Nothing's wrong. How are you? Are you at work?"

"No I just finished a double. Just got home."

"Okay. I won't keep you. I just wanted to call and say hi and let you know that I got to play some of my stuff on air today", She said, faking enthusiasm. She didn't want to bother her mom with her girl troubles after she'd just worked a 16-hour shift. Her troubles could wait. Just hearing her mom's voice made her feel a little more at ease, even if it didn't solve her Chloe dilemma.

"That's great Bec! I'm so proud of you."

"Thanks. Well, that's all I wanted to say, so I'll let you get some sleep."

"Okay. Call if you need anything. I love you", her mom yawned.

"Love you too, mom. Bye", she said, blowing out a long breath as she ended the call. Dropping her phone back onto the desk, Beca ran her fingers through her hair in frustration, knotting and pulling at the hair as she tried to keep it together. She didn't know what to do. She needed to talk to someone, but she didn't know who else to call. Jesse was with his parents in Mexico for the week, her mom was exhausted, and that was pretty much her list of contacts now that she'd burnt all bridges with the Bellas.

The only other person she could call was her dad.

She wasn't sure that this was the type of thing her dad would want to hear about. _Was this the sort of thing you talked to your dad about?_ But she really didn't have any other option. She felt like she might explode if she didn't talk to _someone_ about this. And her dad was a logical man, maybe he could offer a rational solution to her problem.

So, with nothing left to lose, Beca shot her dad a fast text, asking if he'd want to meet for breakfast tomorrow morning. His response came back a few minutes later, telling Beca that he would love to have breakfast with her and to come by his place tomorrow at 9.

Feeling infinitely better, just knowing she'd have someone to vent to, Beca tossed her food in the trash and went back to mixing, hoping a little music would help clear her head of the residual fuzziness.

XXX

"So, I take it you're not just here for croissants and my lovely company?", Her dad asksed knowingly, pushing a cup of coffee towards his daughter.

"Am I that obvious?" she sighed, slouching further in her seat.

"I don't think I've ever seen you look so distraught. What's wrong? You're not failing are you?" he asked, sounding genuinely concerned.

"No…No, I'm not failing. Actually, this has nothing to do with school really…it's about Chloe…" she said nervously, unsure of how her dad would react to her girl troubles. He had been fine when Beca told him she and Chloe were dating and never seemed uncomfortable with the fact when Chloe had come for dinner, but still, Beca wasn't sure just how comfortable he was with the topic.

"What's wrong? I thought things were going well between you two. You seemed so happy."

"We were…and then I had to go and fuck it all up", she said softly, eyes downcast.

"What exactly happened? 'Fucking it up' doesn't really give me any insight into what played out", he said, cringing slightly at the cuss.

"I messed up our set at Semi's. I went off script and started an impromptu mashup. I thought it would help. I mean, our set list sucked. I just wanted to help us advance…but no one saw it that way. Not even Chloe...which, makes no sense, because Chloe has been on my side about our set this whole time. But when Aubrey decided to tear me to shreds in front of everyone, Chloe didn't even say anything. She just stood there", Beca rambled off, her voice started out soft with remorse, before turning angry with betrayal as she recounted the events. "I haven't talked to Chloe since...or any of them for that matter. It just all came crashing down in that one moment, ya know? Like I finally realized how destructive us dating was…how destructive I am."

"And then I got this stupid notification last night reminding me that Chloe has to have surgery today. And I'm like one of the only people she told about it. So, I just don't know what to do. I miss her, but I feel like she just up and abandoned me that night. And I know the sooner I cut ties with her the better, because I'm really just keeping her from her soulmate. But…fuck! I just miss her, and I'm worried about her. But mainly…I just really miss her", Beca tells the man, unable to stop the words from spilling out of her mouth.

Warren sighed. "Beca, I'm about to tell you something, and I need you to listen. Really listen, okay?"

She nods in affirmation.

"Beca, you and I are both runners." Beca couldn't help but scoff and roll her eyes. "I'm sorry, but we are", Warren continues. "And I'm sorry because you got it from me. But it's the truth. We run when things get tough, and unfortunately sometimes that's meant we've run directly opposite to each other. But you don't have to run Bec. It gets exhausting after a while. And trust me, I know personally that running only makes things worse. You're not running away from your problems; you're just carrying them with you. And at a certain point, you're bound to collapse from the weight."

"Is that why you left mom?" She asked resentfully.

"To a certain extent, yes", he said dolefully, tracing the rim of his mug with finger. "We got complacent and lazy, and stopped trying in our relationship. But instead of trying to make it work, I quit and I ran. But I never meant to run from you", he looked up to meet Beca's attentive gaze. "But with my job in Barden and then meeting Sheila, I guess it may have still seemed that way."

"I called and I wrote, but you didn't want to see me, which I understand. I hurt you, and left without much of an explanation. Then after a while of trying to reach out to you and getting no response, I gave up again. I thought if I took a step back from you, maybe I could avoid feeling all the hurt and guilt. But I was wrong. It only made it worse", the man exhaled. "I'm not telling you this to guilt trip you, I'm simply telling you so you don't make my same mistakes Beca. Life is messy and things happen. But you can't just run from everything Bec, you have to face your fears and confront your feelings. And right now, I think that means facing Chloe and the Bellas."

"What do I do?" she pleaded.

"I'm not saying you have to get back together with Chloe or bow down to Aubrey, but you can't just ignore them. Then _you'd_ be abandoning _them_."

She nodded solemnly.

"You know I'm proud of you, right?" He added after a beat, a soft smile tugging at his lips.

"Really?" Beca asked, brows furrowed in surprise. She had never felt that Warren fully understood her, much less was proud of her.

"Yes. Even more so now that I know everything you've been through. I'm sorry I couldn't be there for you then. But I am here now. Whatever you need. I love you, Bec", he offered, standing off his chair and wrapping Beca in a firm hug.

XXX

When the elevator doors opened onto the surgical floor, Beca suddenly didn't know how she got there.

She had rushed straight from her dad's over to the hospital, hoping to make it in time for Chloe's surgery. But now that she was finally here, it was all a blur. Like arriving at your destination and suddenly wondering how you had arrived there. Driving on autopilot, you don't remember how long you've been going or if you'd run a red light in your travels.

Walking up to the nurse's station, Beca waited patiently for the small woman behind the desk to notice her. "Hello. How can I help you?" she asked, far too cheery for Beca's liking.

"Uhm…my friend is schedule to have surgery today. Chloe. Chloe Beale?" Beca told the woman, nervously drumming her fingers on the desk.

The woman nodded, turning to type something in on her computer, her fingers dancing across the keys with such speed Beca felt nauseous. Or maybe it was just her nerves making her feel sick, the prospect of seeing Chloe after so long beginning to suffocate her—much less the thought of Chloe being drugged and sliced open.

"She's just been taken in. Her surgery shouldn't be more than an hour. Maybe even less. You're more than welcome to wait over there until she's done", the woman informed, pointing to the waiting area.

"Thanks", Beca nodded, turned to take a seat in one of the open chairs.

There were only a handful of people there, most middle aged and reading whatever out-dated magazine the hospital had lying around. There was one man, maybe forty, pacing up and down one row of chairs, whisper-yelling at someone over the phone. He was dressed in a perfectly pressed suit, and kept rattling off file numbers and mentions of protocol. Wanted to sit as far from the man as possible, Beca walked past a friendly looking woman, setting herself down in the corner chair. The woman almost immediately shifted from her seat a few down from Beca to occupy the one directly next to the girl. _Did the woman not understand Beca's choice in seat?_

"You're Beca, right?" the woman asked.

"Uhm…how do you know my name?" Beca began to worry.

"Elizabeth Beale", the woman extended her hand. "I'm Chloe's mom", she beamed. Beca suddenly felt stupid, the woman looked so much like her redheaded friend—save for her fiery red locks—it was almost unbelievable she hadn't realized immediately.

"Oh. Hi. It's nice to meet you", Beca said nervously, shaking the woman's hand politely. "Still…how do you know who I am?"

"Chloe showed me a couple photos of you guys with the Bellas. She talks about you all the time. It's nice to finally meet you", Liz smiled, her pale eyes lighting up. Maybe Chloe hadn't told her mom about how Beca had sabotaged their performance or how she had ignored her daughter for the past two weeks. Regardless, the woman seemed genuinely happy to meet Beca. But then again, she was a Beale, and if Chloe was anything to go by, the Beale's were happy people. Like, sunshine and rainbows kind of happy.

"It's really nice of you to come. I know Chloe will appreciate it. She wondered if you remembered", Liz said, her face falling and voice soft with compassion. _Okay, so Chloe did tell her._

"Yeah…I-I really messed up…I just wanted to make sure she was alright. Make sure she wasn't alone."

"It's a good thing you've found someone so forgiving then", Liz said lightheartedly, making Beca smile. "She's going to be really happy you're here."

"I hope so."

XXX

"Family of Chloe Beale?" a nurse announced, walking into the waiting area.

Immediately Liz stood up, grabbing her purse, but stopping mid-grab when she saw Beca still firmly in her seat. "Aren't you coming?"

"You go. I'll wait", Beca said, not wanting to impose on a family moment. She would wait until Liz was done seeing Chloe before going in herself.

"Don't be silly dear. Come on", Liz waved the girl up.

"How'd she do?" Liz asked, the nurse leading them down one of the halls.

"Great. She's been awake for a little while, the meds have finally worn off, so she's not too groggy. She can't talk, but she seems to be in good spirits", the nurse informed Liz, before stopping at a door and motioning the women in. "I'll be back to check on her in a little while", she said before disappear back into the hallway.

"Chloe? Hi sweetie", Liz said softly, watching her daughters face light up at seeing her mom. "I have someone here to see you", she said, motioning Beca forward.

"Hi." Beca offered an awkward wave, waiting for Chloe's smile to break into an angry frown. But it didn't. Instead, Chloe's jaw dropped for a moment, before breaking out into an even larger grin.

"I'll let you and Beca talk…well, Beca can talk", Liz teased. "I just wanted to make sure you were okay first."

Chloe nodded.

"You feel okay? Not in too much pain?" Liz fussed, smoothing out Chloe's hair.

Chloe rolled her eyes playfully before holding two thumbs up for her mom. Liz nodded, kissing Chloe on the head before stepping out of the room to allow the girls some privacy.

Beca stepped forward, nervously shuffling up to the side of the bed.

"I'm so sorry Chloe. I know I screwed up. I ruined the Bellas shot at winning, and I ruined us…I—" Beca was cut off by Chloe's hand, raised in a motion to tell Beca to stop. Beca nodded dejectedly, thinking Chloe didn't want to hear any of what she had to say; that she was done with Beca altogether. But Chloe just smiled sympathetically and nodded in full understanding before reaching out to hold Beca's hand in both of hers.

"I'm so sorry", Beca said softly. "I'm so sorry I ran."

Chloe reached up, grasping Beca behind the neck and pulled the younger girl down into a firm kiss. Beca was the first to pull back, worried the action may hurt Chloe's throat, but the redhead didn't seem to mind.

"I missed you so much", Beca breathed, hoping Chloe understood just how apologetic she was.

The redhead smiled, pointing to herself and then holding up two fingers, motioning "me too", to the younger girl.

XXX

It was five days after Chloe's surgery, and the girl had long been released from the hospital. She was now at home in the comfort of her apartment, though still under strict vocal rest.

Liz had since flown back to Florida, only there for three days following her daughter's surgery, having to go home for a funeral. Chloe had assured her she would be fine, and that it was okay for her mom to leave early. It's not like she was immobile; just a sore throat and vocal rest. Though, the painkillers did make her pretty drowsy.

Upon hearing Liz would be leaving early, Beca immediately stepped up, offering to stay with Chloe for the remainder of the week and help take care of her. Liz thanked Beca profusely, kissing her on the cheek and whispering in her ear how much she already loved the girl and how happy she was Chloe had met her. _She definitely knows who Chloe got her affectionate personally from._

"Here ya go", Beca said, hopping over the couch to offer Chloe a popsicle.

Chloe smiled, accepted the stick from the other girl and letting Beca scoot in next to her. The brunette tugged the throw off the arm of the couch, draping the blanket over their two bodies and settling in against Chloe, her own popsicle in hand.

Today they were watching the Breakfast Club. Jesse had lent Beca a handful of his top rated movies, telling her she had to watch them over the break. That maybe in between wallowing she would actually enjoy one. When Beca had shown Chloe the collection, the girl instantly grabbed for the Breakfast Club, declaring it the perfect movie; that from here on out, it would be their movie. Beca really had no interest in watching the thing, and found the idea of having a couple's movie ridiculous, but Chloe had pulled the sick card and ultimately won out. It was okay though, Beca would probably wind up watching Chloe the whole time instead anyway.

Chloe nudged Beca lightly, nodding once to ask if she was ready. Beca nodded back, head lost in how happy she was to be back in the older girl's presence.

She had never stopped apologizing to the girl and felt like she may never stop. But Chloe seemed to understand. She understood Beca's intentions when she deviated from the set list, she understood her anger at Chloe's silence, and she understood her storming off. But most importantly, she seemed to understand that beneath the surface tension of Semi's, lay the weight of Beca's tattoo. She understood the crushing weight it had on the smaller girl, and how even before Semi's, Beca was feeling suffocated by the pressure of it all.

But she felt like being here with Chloe, getting to take care of her for a change, might be enough to show the girl how truly sorry she is and her dedication to their relationship.

So that's how they spent the rest of their spring break, together, munching on popsicles and Jell-O—which also just so happens to be the extent of Beca's cooking abilities—just happy to be together again.

And as it turned out, Beca didn't just watch the Breakfast Club with Chloe, she loved it—for once finding the storyline deeply compelling and the characters so profoundly relatable it almost scared her. Come the finals credits, Beca was a sobbing mess.

Maybe Jesse could make a movie buff out of her yet.


	15. Chapter 15

_Here's another one for you guys :)_

 _Thanks so much to everyone who has commented on this story, I love hearing from you guys!_

 _And special thanks to my beta AgentVector!_

 **Chapter 15**

"Beca, please", Chloe begged, standing in the middle of the brunette's dorm room.

"No. I'm not going", Beca stated firmly, directing her attention back to her laptop.

"Come on", the redhead groaned. "You made amends with me. Why can't you do the same with the Bellas?" she asked, grabbing the back of Beca's chair and spinning the girl back around.

Beca rolled her eyes. "I already made amends. I sent them all a long heartfelt apology. I don't need to go back. It's done Chloe."

"Beca", Chloe sighed, softening her voice. "I'm sure they would take you back."

"It's not about that", the brunette insisted. Truthfully it was a little about that. But not entirely. "You guys got back in on a technicality. It doesn't change the fact that I ruined our set. And honestly, I don't want to go back just to keep singing the same songs over and over again. This is my decision. Just because you and I are back together doesn't mean I have to go back and join the Bellas.

"Okay", Chloe resolved. "But the invitation is still there. I'll see you later", She said leaning down to kiss her girlfriend. "I've got to run to my class and then I have rehearsals. I'll text you when I'm done?"

Beca nodded. "Take it easy with your throat though, okay?"

"Okay, I will. Bye."

Once the redhead was gone, Beca flopped down onto her bed, hoping to get a nap in before meeting up with Chloe again later. She had had an 8am class that morning and had been up late mixing, so a nap was much needed.

About an hour into her nap, Beca was woken by an incessant pounding against her door.

Wiping the sleep from her eyes, Beca rolled herself off the bed and went to open the door.

"Stacie?"

"Hey, ear spike", the girl said by way of a greeting, shoving past the smaller girl and letting herself into the room.

"Uhm. I don't remember inviting you over…or in for that matter", Beca said, confused as to why Stacie was here and making herself at home in her room.

"Look, I'm going to cut straight to the point. You're coming to rehearsal today."

"I've already been over this with Chloe. No. I'm not", She said firmly, turning and crawling back into bed, pulling the covers up over her head. "Now let me sleep."

"Beca, come on", Stacie says, yanking the covers back down. "You know as well as I do that we don't stand a chance without you. Your voice is amazing and without you there, there's no way in hell our set list is ever going to change."

"Aubrey's your girlfriend. Can't you like…bribe her with sex or something?"

"I've tried. Trust me", Stacie winks. "Affection doesn't change Aubrey's mind, opposition however, does."

"Great. So have angry sex then. I don't really care. This isn't my problem anymore."

"Yes it is. Because I know for a fact that the reason you won't come back is because you feel guilty for messing us up at Semi's—Which FYI, you didn't really, you actually gained us points. But anyways, back to my point: you feel guilty. But if you don't come back and help us win, our loss at the ICCA's is also going to be on your hands", she said bluntly.

"What about Aubrey? She would blow her stack if I came back. And to be honest, I don't know if I could stand to be around her after the stuff she said. I mean, she was a pill before, but now…" Beca shook her head.

"I know. And I know it's not the same coming from me, but I'm sorry. Aubrey has all this pent up rage from her family, and she doesn't know who to direct it at—because God forbid she ever express herself to her parents—so instead she explodes at people who don't always deserve it. It's something she's working on, but it's also something she doesn't always realize she's doing—or just how awful it can be. I know she can be controlling and a little hysterical sometimes, but the way she spoke to you at Semi's wasn't okay. Sure you made a mistake, but you're human…If anyone should understand that it's Aubrey given last year's fiasco."

"I think even she knows that she's wrong about this. She's just been so fixated on proving to everyone that we can win with that set list as a way of making up for last year, that her judgement's been a little hazy."

Beca looked to be deep in thought, fighting an inner battle with herself.

"Listen", Stacie piped up. "You don't have to come if you really don't want to. But I think you should. I want you there, and I know Chloe does too. Just…think about it. The Bellas wouldn't be the same without you."

Beca nods thoughtfully, watching from the bed as Stacie gets up and lets herself out, fingers crossed that Beca would pull through.

XXX

Chloe paced the front walk of the auditorium, gnawing anxiously on her lip as she waited to see if Beca would show. She walked back and forth, over and over, watching the quad for any sign of the small girl. But, after five minutes had passed, she figured Beca had stuck to her guns and wasn't coming. Letting out a disappointed sigh, the redhead spared one last look before turning and walking into the auditorium.

The girls had gathered already—everyone but Beca in attendance—sitting amongst the first rows of seats while Aubrey stood, organizing a stack of papers in her hands.

When Chloe walked back in—having given up hope on her girlfriend showing—she caught Stacie's gaze, the brunette offering a sympathetic half-smile, knowing full well where Chloe had been.

Aubrey didn't hesitate for a moment, calling the rehearsal to commence, Chloe standing dutifully beside her—like always. Honestly, it was as if Chloe weren't even a captain. For a while there, Aubrey's leadership hadn't bothered her, the girl perfectly happy to hand the reigns over to the blonde and aid in her quest for redemption. But now Chloe was beginning to see just how irrelevant she was to the blonde, and it was really starting to get under her skin.

"Okay ladies, the aca-gods have looked down on us and they have given us as second chance", Aubrey spoke.

"Shalom!" Amy cheered.

"I guess she's not coming", Chloe sighed, looking to the door one more, hoping to see the small girl walking through.

"Who? Everyone's already here", Aubrey asked, handing out checklists of what they needed to work on before the ICCA's.

"Beca. I told her she should come. But…I guess she decided not to."

"You did what?" Aubrey choked, turning back to Chloe.

"She makes us better", the girl stated simply.

"That's not an opinion for you to have Chloe." _Again with the condescension_.

If Beca could stand up to Aubrey, then you know what, so could Chloe.

"Why because it's not yours?" the redhead challenged. "You're not always right you know."

"We will win without her", Aubrey said, extenuating her words as if Chloe were a child. She finished her statement by shoving a copy of the checklist forcefully into the redhead's hand. "Now, can we please get back to what's _actually_ important", she said, shooting Chloe a deadly glare. "Ladies. Scales. Now!"

XXX

"Okay, stop! What is happening to us?" Aubrey ran her fingers down her face in frustration. "Chloe, you sound like you smoke three packs a day", she barked. "And Amy, you're so behind on choreography, it's insane."

"Well yeah, this choreography is lame. Why can't we incorporate some mermaid dancing? Or, slug dancing? You know, something where I don't have to actually move?" Amy shrugged.

"Amy, I swear to god, I don't have time for your crap today. Get it together or get out!" the blonde snapped.

"Aubrey, please just give us a break" Amy whined, desperately trying to level with the girl. "It's kind of not the same without everyone here…like when a wombat goes missing from the pack."

"We need Beca", Cynthia Rose chimed from behind Lily.

"Maybe if Aubrey loosened the reigns a little bit she'd actually want to come back", Chloe sassed, having had enough of her friend's crap.

"Okay, shut it Chloe!" The blonde roared, arms crossed defensively over her chest, her breathing growing heavy.

"Woah, Bree. You don't need to snap at her", Stacie said, shocked by her girlfriend's tone.

"I'm sorry, that was rude. Chloe", she said in mock politeness, "could you please get your head out of your ass, it's not a hat."

Chloe gaped, the rest of the girls gasping behind her.

"Aca-awkward", Amy murmured uncomfortably.

"Again!" The blonde barked, trying to get the rehearsal back on track.

"You know what? No. We don't have to put up with your crap anymore Aubrey. Without us, you can't win. You would be nothing without us. You need us, and you need Beca. Admit it, she's not just our only hope, she's your only hope", Chloe said confidently.

"Oh, please. Just because you're screwing the little degenerate doesn't mean she has any actual talent or leadership abilities. This happens every time Chloe. You get too attached to people, and you let them dictate your life. Newsflash, stop being such a doormat!" the blonde snarled.

"Fine. You want me to stop being such a door mat, let me tell you something. I have been there for you for so many years and all you do is treat me like shit!" Chloe yelled. "She was trying to help us! You really think she set out to destroy us? All she was doing was looking for friends, for a place she could be accepted and could feel like she belonged. You of all people should know what that's like Aubrey."

"You know what the worst part about all of this is?" Chloe asked sardonically, walking right up into Aubrey's face so no one else could hear. "You knew what my tattoo said from the very beginning. And yet, you still went out of your way to sabotage my relationship with Beca. I mean, what kind of a friend does that? Even if she wasn't the right Rebecca, you still should have known to respect that fact that she might be." Aubrey didn't know about Beca's tattoo, so she didn't know if Beca was in fact Chloe's soulmate, but she damn well knew what Chloe's said.

"Are you really calling me a bad friend? I have done nothing but look out for you Chloe!" Aubrey raised her voice.

"Okay…Okay! Just shut up, everyone! Come on, I joined this group so I could hang out with a bunch of really cool chicks. And also cuz I was really sick of all my boyfriends and I needed to get away from that…Although, I didn't anticipate there being so much lady-loving in the group…but, this is some serious horseshit…And that smell stinks everywhere", Amy cried dramatically. "I don't wanna be like the old Bellas", she slumped.

"Yeah, I want to be how we are now", Cynthia rose added, storming past Aubrey to grab her things.

"Me too", Lily whispered inaudibly.

"You should have listened to Beca", Chloe rolled her eyes, brushing past the blonde.

"So it's my fault?" Aubrey scoffed.

"That's not what I'm saying". Chloe says, not wanting to put all the blame on the blonde. Amy however, nodded furiously behind her, only to switch to shaking her head when Aubrey caught sight.

"No, no, no. That's what you're all thinking isn't it? I'm the jerk. I'm the girl obsessed with winning."

"Aubrey, you're too controlling. It's going to ruin all of us."

"You know what? I can lose control if I want to. I can let go!" She started panting heavily, her throat contracting with each breath. "This time I'm not gonna choke it down!" she yelled.

"Oh no, this is not good", Stacie muttered, eye wide as she watched Aubrey's face turn red.

The rest of the girls look on in confusion, while Chloe just stood there, hands on her hips and eyebrows raised challenging the blonde.

After a retched dry heave, a mass stream of vomit was projected across the auditorium floor, the blonde sputtering and convulsing after trying to catch her breath.

"Move out of the splash zone people!" Amy yelled in a panic.

"We could have been champions!" Chloe screamed, all of her anger and resentment towards the blonde from the past year coming bubbling to the surface is a fiery volcano of emotion. The redhead lunged forward, making a move to grab the pitch pipe from the blonde's hand. But Aubrey was fast, ducking out of Chloe's grasp and sprinting around the pond of vomit to avoid being mauled by the girl.

"Give me the pitch pipe you bitch!" Chloe screamed, continuing her pursuit of the blonde.

"Shit. We need to do something", Stacie says aloud, Fat Amy overhearing and deciding to take matters into her own hands. The girl stepped forward, body blocking Aubrey and trapping the girl in a tight hug, swinging her away from Chloe.

The redhead quickly changed course, skidding along the floor, as she pounced on Amy, clawing and shoving as she tried to pry the pipe form Aubrey's grasp.

"Give it to me!" Chloe yelled

"Nooo!"

Amy continued to swing Aubrey, the girl kicking and thrashing in her arms, while simultaneously battling off the angry redhead now clinging to her back.

"Someone needs to help Amy", Stacie said looking around at the other girls. "Lily, you go" she shoved the girl forward, figuring out of all of them, the Asian might have the best chance at defending herself. The girl did have an extensive collection of Japanese throwing blades.

Lily nodded, mumbling something Stacie couldn't quite make out, dodging the flailing limbs as she moved to pry Chloe off of Amy's back. But as she moved to help separate the girls, Amy mistook her for Chloe, shoving the girl away, only to send Lily straight into the puddle of puke.

The girl's unfortunate landing did nothing to stop the fight though, only serving to dislodge the pitch pipe from Aubrey's hand and sending it flying across the floor.

Aubrey and Chloe both jumped for the pipe, tackling each other to the ground as they fought to reach the precious symbol of control.

XXX

After stalling for thirty minutes, Beca finally decided to at least go down to the auditorium—if nothing more than to apologize in person. Remembering what her dad had said, she knew she would feel worse for not going down there.

But when she arrived at the rehearsal space, the scene she walked in on was the last she would have ever expected.

Aubrey and Chloe were rolling around on the floor fighting one another, Lily was making a snow angel in vomit, and Amy was screaming bloody murder, while the rest of the girls coward behind a row of seats. It was complete chaos.

"Guys! Guys, stop! What is going on?", Beca yelled, bringing the fight to an abrupt halt, both Chloe and Aubrey looking up at the girl as if having been caught with their hands in the cookie jar

Aubrey quickly snatched the pipe from the floor, pulling herself up off the ground and dusting herself off. "Nothing. Nothing. This is a Bellas rehearsal", she said out of breath.

"I know", Beca replied calmly, approaching the group like they were a pack of rapid dogs. "I just wanted to say that I'm sorry…in person. What I did was a really dick move and I shouldn't have changed the set without asking you guys. And I definitely shouldn't have left. I let you guys down and I'm really sorry", She said apologetically. Aubrey just stared at her, face void of any emotion. "…and…Aubrey, if you would have me…I want back in…" she said, lowering her head, ready to take the blow.

Chloe's jaw dropped, the girl turning to look at Aubrey expectantly, waiting to see if her friend would be as mature as her girlfriend had just proven to be.

But Aubrey didn't say anything, continuing to just stare at Beca.

Beca nodded, Aubrey's silence speaking loud and clear, the girl turning to exit the auditorium.

"Aubrey…", Amy whispered, waiting for the blonde to stop the girl from leaving.

Beca slowly make her way towards the door, shoulders slumped and head hung low.

"Wait."

"Really?" Beca tuned around, surprised the blonde had changed her mind.

Aubrey sighed, eyes downcast in shame—embarrassed both by her actions and at having to admit defeat. "Beca, I know that I have been hard on you, okay? I know that I have been hard on everyone here", she said lowly. "But I am my father's daughter. And he always said, 'If at first you don't succeed, pack your bags", her voice cracked, eyes wet with unshed tears.

"Jesus…" Amy mumbled.

"I get it", Beca offered earnestly. "Mine gets on me too…Not like that, but…uh…I guess we really don't know that much about each other. About most of you, really…" Beca realized.

"Well, I'll confess something", Stacie offers, hoping to get the ball rolling. "I just found out that I have been offered the chance to work under Dr. Schneider this summer in the neuroplasticity research centre."

"Okay great. Your giraffe legs are wearing smarty pants. Let's get on with the juice", Amy yawned, bored by Stacie's news.

"This is a good idea", Beca nodded to herself. "Maybe don't yawn next time Amy, but this is a good idea. Why don't we all go around the room and say something about ourselves that nobody else knows?"

"Okay, I've got something", Cynthia Rose stands up. "This is hard for me to admit to you guys…well, for the last two years, I've have a serious…gambling problem".

"What?"

"Really?"

The girl nodded thoughtfully. "It all started when I broke up with my girlfriend."

"Nooo. Not another one", Amy whined.

"Amy", Aubrey scolded.

"I mean, yay for the gay!" The Aussie pretended to cheer.

"Okay…Anyone else?" Beca asked.

Lily raised her hand. Beca nodded her on.

"I ate my twin in the womb", she exhaled.

"What?"

The rest of the girls just pretended they heard her and nodded supportively.

"Okay. Uhm…Fat Amy?" Beca said, moving on.

"I'm an open book. I mean, for god's sake you guys call me Fat Amy. You see I guess I'm just not really living if I'm not being 100% honest", the girl shrugged nonchalantly. "…and I've kind of been sleeping with Bumper", She added quickly.

"What!?" Aubrey choked, the rest of the girls pretending to look shocked at Amy's confession. "Amy, that's unacceptable! He is the enemy! How do you know he's not just using you to mess with us?"

Amy looked down into her lap, mumbling incoherently.

"What?" Aubrey leaned in.

"…annndd…he's kind of my soulmate", she said shyly.

Beca's jaw dropped. She had known they were having sex, but she didn't expect them to be in an actually relationship, let alone soulmates.

"That's not possible. I've seen Bumper's tattoo. It says Patricia." Aubrey shook her head proudly, thinking she'd caught Amy in a lie

"…and my real name is actually Fat Patricia", Amy cringed at the confession.

"What. Really?" Chloe asked.

Amy nodded. "See?" she said holding up her pant leg to reveal her tattoo. But instead of "Bumper" scrawled across her calf, the tattoo read "Buford". The rest of the girls looked at her in confusion. "Bumper's real name is Buford. It's like…Amish or something."

"That seems wrong…" Stacie quirks her brow.

"Is that true? His names actually Buford", Chloe asks, looking to Aubrey for confirmation. The blonde always seemed to know everything.

"Actually, it is", She said still in shock. "It says so on the registrar sheets". _See? Know it all._

"Bumper's just his nickname", Amy informs the group.

"Did he get it from bumping uglies so much?" Chloe asks honestly, earning herself a whack in the arm from Beca.

"No, but he should", Amy wiggled her eyebrows suggestively. "He used to run into things as a kid. So his parents made him wear a helmet everywhere. Or maybe it was just a bowl…do the Amish have helmets?"

"That explains so much", Stacie muttered to herself, disregarding Amy's Amish comment.

"Okay. I'll go next", Beca released a tense breath. "Uhm…I've never been one of those girls who had a lot of friends who were girls…And I do now…And that's pretty cool", she smiled softly.

"Beca", Chloe whispered from beside her, encouraging her on with her eyes.

Beca sighed, taking a moment to compose herself. "…And there's a reason for that. I tend to kind of distance myself from people…because…well, because I don't have a soulmate."

"What?" Stacie asked, completely and utterly shocked.

Aubrey just sat there staring, letting the implications of the confession sink in.

"So…you don't have a tattoo?" Cynthia Rose asked, hoping to gain some clarity into the situation. This was completely unheard of to all of them.

"No. I never got one…So, I tend to push people away out of fear of being judged. And as a result, I kind of suck at social situations and being people's friend. As I'm sure you all know by now…" She admitted.

"Man, if only I didn't have a tattoo. I would love to run wild like a free ranged pony", Amy lamented, hoping a little humor may help the situation.

"Beca", Aubrey finally spoke. "I'm so sorry. I didn't know."

"It's fine. I didn't tell you guys because I didn't want your pity. I still don't. I just…thought you guys should know. It's a pretty big reason for why I am the way I am", she shrugged, offering the blonde a reassuring grin. "Now…someone else please go."

"My turn", Chloe nodded to herself, hoping to feed off of Beca's confidence. Beca saw where this was going and offered her girlfriend a reassuring smile. "Over spring break, I made the courageous decision to remove my nodes", she confessed, beginning to break down. Aubrey gasped, hand instantly flying over her heart in disbelief. "The doctor said…I may never sing about a G sharp…maybe…ever", she cried. "I th-thought…the season was o-over".

Aubrey swallowed thickly, bile rising in her throat once again. "Beca", she stood up, hoping to convey some semblance of authority. "What do we do?" She tossed her the pitch pipe to an unsuspecting Beca, only for the pipe to fall and roll directly into the puddle of vomit.

"I'm sorry", Aubrey muttered.

"Maybe not here", the brunette suggested.

XXX

The girls had finally found their harmony. Sure it was in the deep end of a moldy old pool, but they had found it. And all thanks to Beca.

As the girls funnelled out of the pool and headed home for the night, Aubrey spotted Beca and Chloe talking in the corner. Chloe's hands were moving wildly as she spoke and a huge grin could be seen plastered across Beca's face. Aubrey walked up to the two, tapping Chloe on the shoulder and interrupting the conversation.

"I'm sorry to interrupt. I just really wanted to apologize for what I said to you tonight", she told the redhead.

"Thank you. I'm sorry too. We were both angry and we went for the low blows. It's okay. We're good", Chloe reassured her, wrapping the blonde in a tight hug.

"Do you mind if I talk to Beca for a second?"

Chloe looked to the brunette to ensure she was okay with her leaving, and when Beca nodded she reflected the sentiment back to Aubrey. "I'll just go wait over there."

"Want to go sit?" Aubrey suggested.

"Sure", Beca shrugged, following the girl over to the concrete steps. They each took a seat on the second step, staring out into the vacant pool.

"I really am so sorry", Aubrey finally spoke. "Regardless of your soulmate situation, I should never have treated you so poorly. You did nothing to me."

"I may have provoked you a little", Beca smirked.

"Yes, but that doesn't excuse the way I behaved...For the past four years, the Bellas has been my safe haven. Away from schoolwork and my family, it was where I always felt safe. And I'm sorry, because it should have been that for you as well, but I prevented that. I guess I was so used to it being a certain way, that I was worried it wouldn't be my safe place anymore if it changed. Then on top of that, I so desperately wanted to redeem myself for last year, that I never stopped to consider what was best for the group or how my actions were affecting the rest of you", she stopped for a breath. "I struggle with success. In my family, you either win or you win. There's simply no other option. You always have to be the best...I know I shouldn't let my father dictate my life, but his opinion matters to me. I've already disappointed him enough in attending Barden instead of an Ivy League school, and then again in dating a woman. Being the laughing stock of the nation only added fuel to the fire…I honestly don't know why I even try though. He doesn't approve of my involvement in the Bellas in the first place. Us winning wouldn't change that. It's not like he would ever come and watch us perform", she shook her head trying to clear it of all the emotion.

"I get it. My dad left my mom when I was eleven and even before that, he wasn't around a whole lot. But even with him gone, I still felt like I had to live up to his expectations of me and if I didn't…well then it really just reinforced his decision to leave…He's not really supportive of my music. I mean…he's getting better. We've actually bonded a lot since I've come here. But still, I can understand where you're coming from on the dad front…And if he won't come and support you in your passion, well then it's his loss. You're really good Aubrey. Whether we win or come dead last, you made something out of nothing this year. Before you, we were just a bunch of girls who would sing okay and dance a little. You made us a team. He can't take that away from you."

"You know, you're not so bad Mitchell", Aubrey grinned. "And Chloe may have been right. I think you and I have more in common that we care to admit. Maybe that's why we butt heads so much."

"That…And it's kind of fun to get under your skin", Beca teased back.

"Alright, that's enough. So do you have any ideas for our set list for finals?"


	16. Chapter 16

_Here we go...the drama ensues!_

 _F/F and leave me some reviews! let me know what you think :) (I'm needy okay)_

 _Thanks as always to my beta AgentVector and to all who have stuck with this story!_

 _P.S. there will only be 20 chapters to this story_

 _Come follow my on tumblr at the-bechloe-bible or on my main account at actively-anxious !_

 **Chapter 16**

"Do you think we're ready?" Beca sked nervously, inspecting herself one final time in the dressing room mirror.

"Of course we are", Chloe assured from her place on the couch. "Now that you and Aubrey are working together we're unstoppable." Beca nodded unsurely. "Bec, we are going to be fine. We are ready" Chloe said again, trying to instill some confidence in the girl.

"Okay", Beca fiddled nervously with her tube of mascara.

"This isn't all on your shoulders babe", Chloe said softly, coming up to wrap her arms around Beca from behind, her chin resting in the crook of Beca's neck. "Whatever happens, we're in the together. All of us", she reassured, pressing a gentle kiss to the girl's shoulder.

That seemed to help calm the anxious brunette.

Beca nodded more surely, turning from the mirror to look at Chloe for the first time since changing. "Woah. You look really hot, Chlo. Like, holy crap you're beautiful."

"You're not so bad yourself." The girl smirked seductively, running her fingers down the crest of Beca's cleavage.

"Okay you two, stop making out. We're going on soon. You can lady bang after we win this thing!" Stacie hollered, one hand firmly planted over her eyes as she peered into the room—the rest of the girl already stage-side.

"Everything is going to be fine. We are going to be great", Chloe smiled, connecting her lips with Beca's in one final good luck kiss.

"Okay. Let's do this!" Beca pumped confidently.

XXX

The girls stood off stage, watching the Trebles take to the stage as they began their set. Beca couldn't help but break out into a massive shit-eating grin when the spotlight fell on Jesse for his solo. The boy had been so proud when Bumper gave him the news, immediately sending Beca a text with far too many emoji's and exclamation marks for her liking. But in truth, she was pretty proud of the guy too, the two friends having accomplished so much this past year.

She grinned even wider seeing Benji step out onto the stage. Jesse had told her a week ago that the boy would be joining the group last minute. He was filling in for one of the Treble's, after the boy was caught sleeping with not one, but two girls in a professor's office. Needless to say, the boy had been expelled, leaving the Treble's in desperate need of another voice. Wanting to avoid rearranging their entire set last minute, they decided to simply substitute Benji in for the missing member.

The Trebles' performance was good. Really good. They had brought their A-game tonight. Their mashup of "Bright Lights Bigger City" and "I've Got the Magic in Me" really won the crowd over. But despite their hair gel and man splits, Beca was confident the Bellas could now not only compete with the Trebles, but ultimately beat them.

"Okay ladies", Aubrey said, prompting Beca to turn her attention from the Trebles on stage to the group of girls behind her. "We may be the underdog's here tonight, but that's a good thing. No one will be expecting us. We've got this. We can steal this thing."

"No matter what happens out there, no matter the score, we've won." Beca adds, shuffling awkwardly for a moment, a coy grin tugging at her lips, "…I love you awesome nerds".

"Yeah, you guys are the best", Amy added. "Even though some of you are pretty thin, I think that you all have fat hearts. And that's all that matters."

"Just remember to be yourselves out there. That's what's going to set us apart from the rest of the groups", Aubrey smiled, looking at the former group of misfits. They were no longer misfits, they all fit perfectly in place, together.

"Let's squash these dingoes!" Amy cheered, the rest of the girls joining in.

Once the cheers died down, the girls moved to turn their attention back to the Treble's on stage.

"Beca", Aubrey said quietly, approaching the small girl. She extended a hand to Beca, offering the ceremonial Bellas pitch pipe over to her.

"Really?" Beca said surprised.

"It's yours now."

"…This isn't the one that fell in puke, right?" Beca asked, holding the pipe away from her body just to be safe.

"No", Aubrey chuckled lightly. "Lily disposed of the other one."

"That's frightening."

"Yeah, just don't think about it too much", Aubrey agreed, walking with Beca over to join the rest of the girls by the curtain.

Aubrey came up to stand beside Chloe their shoulders brushing as the blonde let out a sigh. "One last time?" she said to the redhead.

"Yeah. One last time." Chloe returned the sentiment, a combination of sadness and anticipation evident in her tone. The redhead smiled, pulling Aubrey into a side hug as they watched the light go out on the Trebles.

They were up.

XXX

Things were going well for the Bellas. Their performance was running smoothly and according to plan, for the first time this year.

Now all they had to do was make it through the last two songs and they would be home free. The one song in their set always made Beca emotional, a lump forming in her throat whenever she sang it. It wasn't so much as to hinder her singing, but just enough that her eyes watered ever so slightly.

 _"_ _Wont you, come see about me,_

 _I'll be alone, dancing you know it baby_

 _Tell me, your troubles and doubts_

 _Giving me everything, inside and out_

 _Don't you forget about me…"_

The song was so fitting for the moment. Beca knew she would never forget these girls. The girls who had changed her life so much in such a short period of time. And Chloe. The girl who turned her world upside in a matter of months and showed her a world entirely outside her own. She knew the Bellas would never be far from her heart. She just hoped they felt the same about her. It was a bitter sweet moment singing together for the last time, and the song captured that so perfectly.

As they transitioned into the final song in their set, Beca caught sight of her dad. He had promised to come watch the girls perform in New York, but seeing him there in the audience sent a completely new rush of joy to Beca's heart. He had kept his promise. Now, there he was, front and centre, whistling and cheering like a crazy person as the girls finished off their performance.

When the final note was sung and the lights died down, Beca could vaguely make out her dad cheering for her as Chloe tackled the girl into a giant, bone crushing hug.

XXX

The girls stood huddled together back stage, anxiously waiting for the judge to announce the winner.

"Hey Aubrey, let me know if the taste of defeat changes the second time around", Bumper taunted from his place with the Trebles.

"Just ignore him. He'll know what defeat tastes like soon enough", Stacie said to the girl.

"Oh, here comes the judge", Chloe pointed to the man ascending the steps to the stage.

The man seemed to walk slower than a snail, dragging his feet as he approached the mic stand. When he finally reached centre stage, he took a moment to adjust the microphone, uselessly playing with the height while everyone waited on edge.

He cleared his throat. "Thank you all for coming tonight to this year's ICCA championships", the crowd applauded. "And thank you to all of the teams who competed. You are all truly at the pinnacle of acapella. However, some of you rose higher than others." He paused, looking down at the small piece of paper he held. "In third place…from Michigan State University…Vocal Velocity!" he cheered.

"And now…in second place…from Barden University…" Beca held her breath. "The Treblemakers!"

Chloe squeezed her hand, blocking the blood flow to Beca's fingers.

"And now, for the moment you've all been waiting for…this year's ICCA champions…the Barden Bellas!"

Chloe's shriek instantly pierced her ears, the girls running out onto the stage to accept their trophy.

"Oh my God", Beca breathed, stuck in place as the realization set in.

"I want a recount!" Bumper yelled.

"Beca!" Aubrey called, holding the trophy. "Come on", smiling, she waved the girl on stage.

XXX

"We won!" Chloe cheered from atop the bar.

After accepting their trophy, the girls had run off to one of New York's many bars in search of celebratory shots.

The Trebles had come along with them, the boys—with the exception of Bumper—excited for their silver finish and more than happy to join the Bellas in partying the night away.

"Chloe", Beca laughed at the very wasted redhead. "Get down fireball, before you fall off and break your leg."

"That would be bad", Chloe slurred, allowing Beca to help her very uncoordinated-self down. "You're too little to carry me", she said, leaning in to Beca. "You're like a teeny tiny little purse dog. Do you think you could fit in my purse? Oh, how about my suitcase? We HAVE to try that."

"Come on drunky", Beca pulled the girl away from the bar, where Amy was now preparing to do body shots.

"Ooh, are we gonna dance? I wanna dance with you Becs. You're such a good dancer", the drunk girl babbled on.

"Thank you." Beca laughed. She had had a few drinks by now, but nowhere near as many as Chloe has apparently been swimming in. "How about we sober you up a bit first, huh?"

"You're so smart Bec. So…sexy and smart", Chloe continued to slur.

"Come on. Let's go to the washroom", Beca suggested, leading the wobbly girl over. Hopefully some air and a cold compress would help.

Pushing the washroom door open, Beca was met with a sight she was not expecting. There was Aubrey, sitting on the counter, back pressed again the mirror, Stacie between her legs, and their mouths attached in a sloppy kiss. The brunette's hand was up the blonde's skirt, Aubrey moaning into her girlfriend's mouth, completely unaware that they now had an audience.

"Oh my god!" Beca yelled, quickly turning to shield her eyes form the assault.

"Ooh. You get it Bree", a drunken Chloe cheered, eyes still locked on the pair.

"Chloe!" The couple yelled in unison, opening their eyes to see the redhead standing there.

"Dude!" Beca shrieked, blindly reach out for Chloe and pulling the girl away with her.

"That was hot", Chloe smirked drunkenly, Beca pulling her back into the bar.

"Ew! Oh my god. That was so gross", Beca shook her head the thought. "I think I need to wash my eyes out with holy water now", she complained.

"I have a bottle of the Pope's tears", Lily muttered, popping up from out of nowhere, only to disappear just as fast.

"Are we still going to dance?" Chloe wondered, a childish whine to her voice.

"I'm not nearly drunk enough for this shit", Beca muttered to herself. Even alcohol couldn't erase the image of Aubrey and Stacie getting it on from her mind. But she could sure try. "Come on Red, let's get me a drink."

"And then we dance?"

"And then we dance", Beca smiled back lovingly. There was no one else she'd rather be celebrating with…even if Chloe wouldn't remember any of this the next day.

XXX

It's been a week since the ICCA's, and the girls were all still revelling in their win.

With finals starting in less than three weeks, Beca and Chloe were enjoying as much down time together as possible, before late night study sessions and exams took over their lives.

Chloe would be graduating at the end of the month, and while the topic of graduation had been a scary one at first. Beca had recently learned that Chloe would be staying in Georgia next year, having been accepted into Peachmount Teacher's College. The school was only a fifteen-minute drive from Barden, which meant the redhead would still be a fixture in Beca's life next year—a huge load off of the younger girl's mind. She'd been trying not to dwell on the fact that after graduation Chloe may be gone from her life for good. But now that wasn't an issue. _Hallelujah!_

Though, the summer still held three months of distance for the two, what with Chloe going home to Florida and Beca staying in Georgia. Beca had been offered a small on-air position at a radio station in Macon—Luke having called in a favor for her—while Chloe planned to take the summer off to relax and spend time with family.

But they had made plans to visit each other as often as possible. Beca, hoping to fly down for a week to visit Chloe in Florida, and the redhead in turn planning to come up and see Beca at some point—or multiple times—over the break.

"When you come to Tampa, we _HAVE_ to go to Busch Gardens. You can play with lemurs, Bec", Chloe practically squealed in excitement.

"Well, then when you come to Macon, I'll _HAVE_ to take you to the paper mill. It's the highlight of the town", Beca said sarcastically.

"I can't tell if you're joking or not…" Chloe squinted at the girl.

"I'm kidding. Gotta save something for the second visit."

"Shut up", Chloe laughed, shoving the smaller girl playfully. "I can't wait to see where you grew up", she added sincerely, a dreamy look in her eyes.

"Really?" Beca sked, unsure as to why it would be such a big deal. Sure, she was excited to see Chloe's hometown as well, but she already knew Chloe. She didn't need to see the girl's elementary school or the hospital where she was born to feel connected to the redhead. But Chloe was sentimental like that.

"Mmhmm. I wanna know everything about you", Chloe grinned softly, leaning in to offer the most tender of kisses.

Beca exhaled against Chloe's lips, all of the stress and tension from the outside world washed away with that one simple motion.

Beca's not really sure how she ever survived before kisses from Chloe. They were a drug. And she was flying high.

"I love you", Chloe whispered, eyes still closed as her lips ghosted across Beca's

Beca froze. Her body paralyzed as soon as the words hit the air.

Chloe must have felt the girl go rigid, because she quickly pulled away, eyes wide and frantic.

"Beca—"

"I have to go", Beca stood quickly, eyes blinking rapidly as she processed what she had just heard. Chloe loved her. Chloe was in love with her. No. This was not right. This was not part of the plan. She wasn't supposed to fall in love with her. She was just supposed to get her taste of normalcy, of intimacy, and then get out without hurting anyone. But she had screwed that up—just another check to the list. She had let herself fall too deep. She had let Chloe fall too deep.

She felt like she was in a vacuum, the air rushing out of her lungs, as the blood rushed to her head.

"Beca, no. Wait. Please", Chloe begged springing up and over to the girl.

Beca looked up, dead straight into those magical blue orbs. "I'm sorry", she whispered so quietly she's not sure Chloe could even hear her, before turning and bolting out of the apartment.

She raced down the steps, leaving a shell shocked Chloe in her wake, the redhead too surprised, too heartbroken, to race after the girl.

Beca pushed open the doors to Chloe's building, letting the cool night air hit her face. She stumbled for a moment, head in a daze as she tried to steady herself. Looking up to the road, she saw a yellow taxi come rolling down the street.

"Taxi", she yelled, rushing to the curb with an extended arm.

Crumbling into the backseat Beca mindlessly told the driver where to go.

A loud ringing suddenly filled the cab. Fumbling to pull her out her phone, her hands shaking like a leaf, she expected to see Chloe's name lighting up the screen. But instead, the call was from Jesse.

"Hello", she said, voice shaky.

"Becaw, hey! What are you up to tonight? There's this band playing down at Kirby's, I thought maybe you'd wanna—" he stopped, hearing Beca's rapid breathing across the line. "Bec? Beca, what's wrong? Are you okay?" he asked frantically, worried something terrible had happened to his friend.

"Chloe said she loves me", Beca croaked after a shaky breath.

"What?" he asked, equally as shocked. "Where are you? Are you okay?"

"I left", she whispered, a tear rolling down her cheek.

"Okay. Just tell me where you are and I'll come get you. Do you know where you are?"

"I'm in a cab" she told him.

"Okay. Do you know where though? Just get out and I'll come get you."

She looked up to see if she knew where she was, it was dark out, but they were approaching an intersection. She squinted to see if she could make out the upcoming street name, too dark out for her to know where she was just by the buildings.

A bright light suddenly filled the car, the white glow straining Beca's teary eyes.

Before she could register where the light was coming from, she felt herself being thrown against the side of the cab, her head crashing into the driver side window.

And then everything went dark again.

"…"

"Beca?!" Jesse yelled through the speaker.

No response. Just the muffled sound of a horn blaring coming through over the line.

"Beca!?"

XXX

Chloe stood frozen in her apartment. Unmoved since she watched the little brunette rush out the door. She just kept staring at the large piece of wood, waiting—hoping—to see the girl come rushing back through at any moment.

But she didn't.

Beca was gone.

Then her phone rang. Snapped back into reality, Chloe moved to answer the device, never taking her eyes off of the door.

"Hello", she said weakly, voice thick with unshed tears.

"Chloe. It's Jesse. Beca's been in an accident."


	17. Chapter 17

**Chapter 17**

"Where is she? Where's Beca?" Chloe cried, barging through the heavy doors and into the ICU where she spotted Jesse waiting anxiously. "Is she okay? Oh my god! Oh my—". Chloe began to hyperventilate, crumpling to the floor as the tears continued to flow.

"Chloe", Jesse said, sinking down to the girl's level. "It's okay. Breathe."

"Beca—", the redhead croaked.

"She's stable", Jesse breathed, his voice equally as hoarse. "It—It was a drunk driver. She was in a cab—and—but she's stable", He trembled. "Her dad's talking to the doctor now. Jill's on her way."

"Oh my God", Chloe choked, struggling to catch her breath.

"Here. Let's go sit down, okay?" Jesse offered consolingly, helping the sobbing girl up and over to the waiting area.

XXX

They'd been sitting in the waiting area for a little over an hour now and Warren still hadn't returned. Jesse sat next to Chloe, the air dead with silence as they waited for any kind of news on their friend.

The whole situation left a bitter taste in Chloe's mouth.

"This is my fault", Chloe whispered distantly.

"No Chloe. This is—no. This was an accident", Jesse said immediately, placing a reassuring hand on the girl's leg.

"I'm the reason she was in that cab. This is my fault", She said, looking up from her lap to meet Jesse's sympathetic brown eyes.

"You are not to blame here Chloe. You didn't push her out of your apartment or shove her into the cab. You didn't drive her to that intersection or force a bottle of tequila down that guy's throat. You didn't do this."

"I told her I loved her", she stated, as if the words alone had hit Beca with enough force to put her in the hospital.

"I know", Jesse sighed.

"And she ran."

"I know."

"I can't lose her Jesse", the girl whimpered.

"We're not going to."

XXX

Ten minutes later, Warren came walking out with a slick looking doctor. The man was tall, well-built and couldn't be any older than 35. His hair was dark and gelled back, away from his clean shaved face. If it weren't for his lab coat and stethoscope, Chloe might have mistaken the man for a banker on Wall Street. He seemed calm and walked with a certain air of confidence, a direct contrast to Warren at the moment. The older man certainly looked worse for wear. His eyes were red from crying, his face pale from shock, and his body moving seemingly on autopilot.

"Dr. Mitchell", Jesse called, shooting up out of his chair and soon as he spotted the man. "Did you get to see her? How is she? Is she going to be okay?"

Before the grief-stricken man could respond, the doctor stepped forward. "Hi, I'm Dr. Copeland, I'll be treating Miss Mitchell."

"Is she okay?" Jesse asked again.

"Your friend sustained several injuries from the crash, including a grade 2 concussion and head laceration. Her left humerus is fractured and has been immobilized. She has two broken ribs, and with the force of the impact, the one actually punctured her left lung. We have her stabilized for now, and we've inserted a small tube into her chest cavity to relieve the pressure and keep her lung inflated. But if anything changes, we may have to look into surgery. She's very lucky she wasn't sitting on the passenger side, otherwise I'm positive her injuries wouldn't be so mild", Dr. Copeland informed the two, his voice even and calm.

 _Mild? Mild!_ Chloe scoffed to herself. Beca had a concussion, broken arm, two broken ribs, and a collapsed lung. How on earth could he be so calm about the situation?

"Okay. But she's going to be okay?" Jesse wondered.

"For the moment, everything appears to be under control, yes."

"Can we see her?" Chloe finally spoke, lip trembling.

"She's on a pretty high dose of morphine right now, so she won't be awake. But you're more than welcome to go sit with her. Just…be aware that she's going to look pretty banged up."

"We want to see her", Jesse spoke for both himself and Chloe, the redhead to choked up to speak.

XXX

"You know, I always thought I'd get the call from the hospital one of these days. I just expected it to be because Beca got in a fist fight or something. Not—not this", the boy lamented, motioning to the hordes of hospital equipment currently surrounding his little friend. "God, she thinks she's such a badass. But she's not. She has the biggest heart. She's really the best friend a guy could ask for", he said sadly, looking over his friend's bruised and bandaged face. She wasn't awake to tease him or slap him upside the head like usual. She was just so still.

"Chloe?" he asked, turning around to see the girl still standing by the door. As soon as she had entered the room and saw Beca lying there, she couldn't move. She felt like her heart might explode—and not in the way it usually felt when she laid eyes on the broody little DJ. She couldn't help but feel like she had done this to Beca. That she was responsible for the girl's pain and suffering. God, she should have just kept her mouth shut.

As soon as her eyes met Jesse's, she couldn't help but let out a strangled sob, the boy instinctively moving to catch her in a tight embrace.

"It's okay. She's going to be okay", He soothed.

"No it's not. Look at her Jesse!" Chloe cried, pulling away from his chest. "She's lucky to even be _alive._ And all because—because of _me_. I knew telling her would scare her into running and I _still_ went and told her anyways. God, I'm so stupid! And now—now Beca's lying in a hospital bed because of it. Because of _me!"_

"Enough of that", another voice spoke. Both Jesse and Chloe turned to see Jill walking into the room. "You didn't do this Chloe and I know you know that. Beca knows that." She states firmly, though Chloe could hear voice crack slightly at the mention of her unconscious child.

"I told her I loved her and then she ran. She ran right into the cab and then…"

"Chloe. Look at me. You didn't do this. You didn't scare Beca away. Trust me. She just needs time to process things. Your love didn't do this to her. If anything Chloe, your love will be a reason for her to fight through this", Jill told the girl. "So as hard as I know it is, we need to pick ourselves up and dry our tears, because Beca's going to need us to be strong for her, okay?"

Chloe nodded, biting back tears.

"Come here", Jill said before wrapping herself around Chloe with one arm and pulling Jesse in with the other.

"She's very lucky to have you two", Jill whispered. "And we're very lucky to still have her", the woman said softly, as a stray tear slipped down her cheek.

XXX

Jesse and Chloe had gone back to the waiting area to allow Jill and Warren their own time with Beca.

It was now long past midnight, but the pair had refused to leave so long as the hospital would let them. So far, despite visiting hours ending ages ago, no one had said anything to the two. Perhaps they pitied them too much to ask them to leave. So there they sat, waiting to hear when Beca woke up or of any changes to her condition.

Chloe was nursing her third cup of coffee—though it was really more like brown hospital water than actual coffee—while Jesse stared absentmindedly at the TV on the wall, watching the same news stories they'd been listening to on repeat for the last two hours.

"Do we know if anyone else was hurt?" Chloe asked, breaking the silence.

"Huh?" Jesse turned to the girl, too lost in his thoughts to have heard the question.

"Do we know if anyone else was hurt in the crash?"

"Oh, uhm. Apparently the cab driver is okay, just some bruising and a minor concussion. The other driver was banged up pretty badly, but he's doing okay—besides the DUI he's facing. I guess the airbags protected him enough", he said distantly.

"So it's just Beca?"

"Yeah…", he sighed, knowing exactly how Chloe was feeling.

Chloe nodded dejectedly. Why did it have to be Beca? Chloe wasn't a spiteful person, but even so, she couldn't help but wonder why the asshole who drove drunk couldn't have been hurt instead of Beca. She didn't deserve this.

Chloe stifled yet another yawn, drowning her exhaustion with another sip of coffee—the action not going unnoticed by Jesse.

"Does anyone else know about this? Do any of the other Bella's know you're here?" he asked.

"No. I came straight here. I didn't have time to call anyone", Chloe yawned again.

"Okay. Do you want me to call Aubrey to come get you?"

"No. I'm—I'm just going to stay here with Beca. Wait for some news", she nodded to herself.

"Chloe, you can't stay here all night. You need to go home and get some sleep. We both do."

"I can't leave her", she said quietly.

"She's not going anywhere. She's going to be okay. I'm going to go home for a bit too. Just let me call Aubrey for you."

Chloe gave a weak nod.

XXX

"Chloe! Are you okay?" The blonde called out, rushing in to meet Chloe at the hospital entrance.

"I'm fine. I wasn't in the car with her", the redhead replied tiredly—exhausted both from the lack of sleep and the emotional upheaval of the night.

"That's not what I was asking. Are you okay?" Aubrey asked seriously, grabbing Chloe's face in both hands and staring deeply into the other girl's tired eyes.

"I told her", the redhead shrugged despondently.

Aubrey had known how Chloe felt, the redhead having told her one morning over breakfast, physically incapable of keeping it in any longer. She also knew that Chloe had been struggling with confessing the depth of her feelings for Beca, knowing the younger girl's fear of commitment and reservations surrounding soulmates. So she knew exactly what Chloe was referring to as soon as the words spilt from her lips. And in the wake of Beca's accident, she knew just how torn up Chloe would be about it.

"Chloe…" Aubrey offered sympathetically.

"I just want to go home and sleep. Can we just go home?" Chloe interjected.

"Yeah. Yeah, let's go", Aubrey said, securing an arm around the redhead's shoulder as they walked out.

XXX

Despite her words, Chloe couldn't for the life of her fall asleep. Every time she closed her eyes to try, her mind flooded with images of Beca lying limp in that hospital Beca, wires running in and out of the girl, as her body fought just to keep breathing. It was a living nightmare.

Instead, she pulled out her laptop and turned to music; the one thing that has always gotten her through; the thing that makes her feel the most connected to Beca.

After hours behind the screen, Chloe finally fell asleep a little after the sun rose, her eyelids too heavy to hold up any longer.

Aubrey came in an hour later to check on the girl, finding her passed out across the bed, clothes still on and computer in lap. She sighed sadly to herself before walked over and pulling the spare blanket across Chloe's resting form. She figured she'd let her sleep a little while longer and then wake her to go back to the hospital.

But only thirty minutes later Chloe was woken from her slumber, not by her roommate, but by her phone ringing loudly from its place on her nightstand.

Not a second later, Chloe was up and out of bed, rushing into the living room as she struggled to pull a fresh shirt over her head.

"Aubrey! We need to go to the hospital!"

"Okay, Chloe. Calm down. I was going to wake you to—"

"No. You don't understand. Jill just called. Beca's been rushed into surgery. We have to go NOW!"

* * *

 _Another cliffhanger, I KNOW!_ _Sorry ;)_

 _Another chapter will be coming very soon, so just sit tight!_

 _As always F/F and review!_

 _Come follow my on tumblr at the-bechloe-bible or on my main account at actively-anxious !_


	18. Chapter 18

_Alright guys, I'm not a doctor and my only sources of medical info are greys anatomy and google, so don't kill me if any of this is super inaccurate._

 _Mashup is Hero by_ _Enrique Iglesias and Heaven by Bryan Adams_

 **Chapter 18**

"No. You don't understand" Chloe said, frantically waving her hands. "Jill just called. Beca's been rushed into surgery. We have to go NOW!"

"Okay. Okay, Chloe. You need to take a breath", Aubrey said calmly, getting up from her spot on the couch and making her way over to the hysterical redhead.

"No, we need to go!"

"Okay. We will. Just slow down for a sec okay?" she said, bracing both hands on Chloe's shoulders in an attempt to get the girl to calm down and breathe. "Okay. Go brush your teeth, grab whatever you want to take for the day, and I'll drive you there. Okay? Just…stay calm", the blonde instructed.

"Okay", Chloe nodded, taking a deep breath.

XXX

When they arrived at the hospital, they found Jesse already sitting in the waiting area talking to Jill, while Warren paced up and down one of the rows of seats.

Chloe immediately raced over to speak with Jill, hoping to find out more about how Beca was doing. Aubrey trailed dutifully behind her, equally as concerned about the tiny DJ's well-being. They may not be best friends, but Beca and Aubrey had certainly grown closer over the past few weeks. Turns out all it took was finding a little common ground. So while they may not be buddy-buddy like Jesse, or dating like Chloe, Aubrey certainly didn't want anything bad to happen to the girl. The very thought made her sick to her stomach. But she had to stay calm for Chloe.

"Jill! How is she? What happened?" Chloe asked quickly.

Jill looked utterly exhausted. "They just took her in for surgery. Her rib tore further into her lung so now they have to operate to repair it."

"Oh my god. Can—can they do that? Can they fix it?"

"Yes, they'll do a simple patch. If everything goes okay, they're going to try and go in laparoscopically, so hopefully she won't have too big of a big scar. But they said they won't know until they get in there and assess the tear. It's okay, I see things far worse than this every day at the hospital. It's going to be fine", She said, as if reassuring herself more so than Chloe.

"Do they know how long it'll be?"

"Not really. They said it will depend. We just have to wait."

"And pray", Jesse mumbled from his seat.

"Enough of that. She is going to be okay. We need to think positively", Jill scolded, not needing the reminder her child's life was in danger. The woman was doing her best to remain calm, drawing on her experience as a nurse to think things through from a medical standpoint, but Beca was her daughter. She couldn't help but worry.

"Chloe, why don't you sit. I'm going to go down and grab us some breakfast from the coffee cart. What would you like?" Aubrey said gently.

Chloe did as Aubrey said and moved to sit in one of the uncomfortable hospital chairs. "I'm okay, thanks", she said, shrugging off the blonde's offer of food.

"Chloe, you have to eat something". The blonde wouldn't budge.

"A muffin and a juice is fine, thanks", Chloe mumbled back, too focused on her girlfriend's current well-being to care about her breakfast order.

"Okay. I'll be right back", Aubrey said, before asking the others if they'd like anything and making her way down to the main floor.

XXX

While waiting in line to order, Aubrey's phone rang. Without hesitation, she pulled out the device and answered it quickly. She didn't even bother to look at the caller, worried that something had happened to Beca during the five minutes she'd been gone.

"Hello?" She answered anxiously.

"Hey, babe. I stopped by your place this morning but you weren't there. What are you up to?" Stacie's voice came through coolly.

Aubrey blew out a breath, thankful it wasn't Chloe calling with bad news. She had meant to text all of the Bellas to let them know about Beca's accident, but when Chloe got the call from Jill this morning, everything else fell by the wayside. "I'm at the hospital with Chloe—"

"Oh my god! Are you okay? Is Chloe okay?"

"Yeah, we're fine. Well, sort of. Beca was in an accident. They just took her up for surgery. I meant to call you, but with everything going on…"

"Yeah, no, I totally get it. Is she okay? What kind of surgery are we talking about?" Stacie asked. Being pre-med, she knew the type of surgery would tell her far more about the other girl's condition than anything else.

"She was in a car crash last night going home from our apartment. Her rib punctured her lung. They're going in now to repair it", Aubrey struggled to repeat the news.

"A pneumothorax repair", Stacie filled in. "How's Chloe?" She added softly.

"A mess. She thinks she did this to her", the blonde shook her head, inching forward in the line.

"What? Why?"

"She told Beca she loved her and Beca ran."

"Oh my God", Stacie sucked in a sharp breath. "Do you need me to do anything? Need me to bring you guys anything?" she offered.

"No, I think we're okay for now. We're probably going to be here for the rest of the day, if not longer. I'm going to contact mine and Chloe's professors about missing our lectures. But other than that, I don't know what else we can do. I do have to tell the rest of the girls though. I think they should know."

"Yeah, absolutely. I'm sure they'll all want to come down there as soon as she's awake."

"Yeah, I don't know how long the surgery is going to take but I'll let you know when I find out, okay?"

"Yeah, please do. Do you want me to come down there and sit with you?" Stacie tried again, knowing her girlfriend would never outright ask for help.

"No, that's okay."

"Bree—"

"Seriously", Aubrey insisted. "You go to class. Finals are coming up; I don't want you missing anything. I'll call you as soon as I know anything, okay? It's really just a waiting game at this point. There's no need for another one of us to fall behind. I promise I'll call you as soon as she's out."

"Okay", Stacie sighed. "I love you Aubrey", she said, feeling like in the moment it needed to be said. The cloud of loss, weighing heavy right now.

"I love you too. I'll talk to you later, okay?" Aubrey replied tenderly.

"Okay. Bye"

"Bye."

Aubrey ordered her food quickly and made her way back up to the ICU to join the other's, the group of them waiting on edge to hear _anything_ about Beca's condition.

XXX

Rounding the corner to the elevators, Aubrey saw Dr. Mitchell on his way out to get some air, the stuffy hospital air and plain white walls beginning to drive him crazy.

"Excuse me, Dr. Mitchell?" she called out to the man, doing her best to grab his attention while still balancing her armful of food and drinks.

"Huh?" He looked up to see who had called him. "Oh, sorry. Hi", he said politely, looking a little disoriented.

"Hi. I'm Aubrey Posen, I don't know if you know who I am."

"Yes. You're in the Bellas with Beca, right?"

"That's right", she smiled softly, knowing Beca had probably said more than just that to her father about her leadership. "I'm sorry to bother you, but you work at Barden right?" The man nodded. "I was just wondering if you'd talked to the school about…all of this. I was going to call later to see if Chloe could be excused from her classes. I'm sure that once Beca's awake she won't want to leave her side. I just thought maybe you would know who I should call about that. And maybe, if you hadn't called already, I could talk to them about Beca's absence as well."

"You certainly live up to Beca's description of you", he chuckled solemnly.

"I'm a little type-A, I know" she apologized, again knowing Beca had probably described her as much more than just a little neurotic.

"It's a good thing". He assured her. "But yes, I called this morning to let the dean know I wouldn't be in for a little while and to deal with Beca's classes. He was very understanding. I can give you his direct line if you'd like. If you call him and let him know I gave it to you, I'm sure he would be more than happy to accommodate Chloe as well", he offered, impressed with Aubrey's foresight and concern for her friends.

"Thank you so much."

"Of course", he smiled, letting Aubrey head back up to deliver Chloe her food.

XXX

"Beca Mitchell." Dr. Copeland called out, walking into the waiting area, still dressed in his surgical scrubs and cap.

"How did it go? Is she alright?" Jill asked quickly, standing from her seat as soon as she spotted the doctor.

"We managed to patch the rupture and she's stable. We were able to do it all laparoscopically, so we didn't have to crack her chest, which will cut down her recover time significantly", he told the anxious group. Everyone instantly released a sigh of relief. "However…"

"What do you mean, 'however'. She's okay right? You said you fixed her lung. So, she's alright, right?" Jesse spoke, his emotions running high.

"Yes. We did stabilize the rib and patch the lung, so the pneumothorax is under control. But, when we went in, we saw that the tear was much larger than originally anticipated and growing. Because the rupture was so large, the tube we inserted into her chest cavity wasn't sufficient in keeping her lung properly inflated. Once we got it there, we were able to remove the tube and provide supplemental oxygen, but we really don't know how long she may have gone without a sufficient flow of oxygen. While the surgery itself was a success, I do need you to understand the potential side-effects she may be facing, given her limited respiratory function", Dr. Copeland recited, eyeing Chloe closely as he spoke, making the redhead slightly uncomfortable under his gaze.

"What do you mean side-effects?" Warren asked worriedly.

"She could be facing deficits to her cognitive function. We will just have to wait and see if she wakes up. I'm very sorry, I know this is difficult. But I can assure you, she is in the best hands."

"She might not wake up?" Jesse choked.

Chloe felt like she might pass out.

Aubrey thought she might puke.

The doctor swallowed before continuing. "Coma is a possibility, yes", he said sympathetically. "We don't know the exact odds, as we don't know how effective the tube was once the lung was punctured. If she does wake up though, there are still some possible complications; memory loss, trouble with speech, epilepsy, we really won't know until she wakes up. In the mean time we'll continue to monitor her condition very closely."

"I thought this was a routine procedure? Something that happens all the time?" Jesse turned to Jill, the woman pale with fear.

"It was", Dr. Copeland jumped in for the trembling woman. "Every surgery, every injury has its risks and complications. We weren't expecting this."

"Can we see her?" Warren asked, holding a supportive arm around his ex-wife. The two didn't usually get along so well, but their child was sick, and no one else knew what that felt like. They had brought that life into the world together, they weren't supposed to see it taken away before their very eyes.

"Yes, she's back in her room now. If you follow me, I can take you there."

"Chlo, you go with them. I'm just going to call Stacie and give her an update, okay?" Aubrey said softly. The redhead just nodded, staring blankly ahead as she followed the doctor down the hallway.

With trembling hands, Aubrey pulled out her phone and dialed her girlfriend.

"Hey, how is she?" Stacie's concerned voice picked up.

"She just came out of surgery. It's not good though. They said she may have gone without enough oxygen for too long. Something about her breathing tube not working and the lung tearing", Aubrey told the girl.

"Shit, that's not good. Okay, I'm on my way down there. I'll be there in like 15 minutes. Okay?" Stacie tried not sound too panicked.

"You don't have to come down her Stace. We're just waiting to see if she'll wake up", Aubrey said, trying not to burst into tears. She had grown to really like the little alt girl.

"She's my friend too Aubrey. I'm coming."

"Okay. I'll see you soon. Drive safe, please", Aubrey said softly, the inconceivable pain of having to go through what Chloe was currently battling, leaving a heavy weight on her heart.

Before locking her phone, Aubrey sent out a mass text to the rest of the Bellas, letting them know Beca was out of surgery and that visiting hours were on for another few hours if they wanted to come as visit.

Aubrey had texted them all earlier, informing them of Beca's accident, but asking they please wait before flooding the hospital until Beca was out of surgery and stable.

They all seemed to respect the request. Even Amy.

XXX

While Aubrey stayed back to call Stacie, Chloe waited anxiously in the hallway outside of Beca's room. Warren, Jill and Jesse had all gone in to see Beca, but Chloe just couldn't bring herself to go in yet.

She so desperately wanted to see the girl—to see with her own eyes that she was in fact still there—but she also knew that the second she walked into that hospital room, her heart would be shattered into a million tiny pieces.

"Chlo…" Aubrey said carefully, approaching the redhead.

"Hey", she said simply, looking up from the floor.

"Stacie's on her way."

"Okay", Chloe replied quietly.

"I also called the school and talked to the dean. You'll be exempt from all of your classes and exams. Beca too" Aubrey said, leaning against the wall next to her friend. "Don't worry, you'll still graduate. The dean said you'll just finish with your term mark. I hope that's okay."

"Uhm…yeah", Chloe said, dumbfounded by Aubrey's helpfulness. She really shouldn't be at this point though. They had been friends for four years, if anyone knew how organized Aubrey Posen was, it's Chloe. "Thank you. I don't want to leave Beca. Besides, I don't know if I'd even be able to concentrate long enough to study for finals knowing Beca's in here."

"I know. It's okay. It's taken care of. You don't have to worry."

"Thanks Bree", Chloe smiled softly. She was truly thankful for her friend.

"I'll always have your back Chloe. Beca's too. We're family. Maybe not by blood, but certainly by bond."

Chloe nodded in thoughtful agreement.

"So are you going to go in there?" Aubrey asked after a moment of silence.

"I'm just getting ready", Chloe said, almost inaudibly.

"I'm not sure you're ever going to be ready for this."

"I don't know if I can see her like this. I just don't know if I can handle that. What if that's the last time I see her? I don't want to remember her like this."

"I think you'll regret it more if you don't go in there, Chlo."

XXX

"You ready?"

Chloe nodded.

"Okay. I'll be out here if you need me", Aubrey offered.

Walking into the room, Chloe thought she might be the one with the broken lung. Seeing Beca lying in the crisp white bed with even more wires than before, sucked the air right out of her lungs.

Walking over to the unconscious girl, Chloe sat down in the chair next to the bed, reaching out to run her hand over Beca's still fingers.

Beca's fingers were never still. Whether mixing or playing with Chloe's hands in her own, they always seemed to be moving. Like the music constantly whirling in Beca's body flowed right out of the delicate digits, incapable of keeping them from moving melodically at all times of the day.

"I'm sorry", the girl whispered, grasping Beca's limp hand in her own, never wanting to let go.

XXX

"Get out of my way! I'm here to see a sick little shortstack!" Chloe heard Amy holler halfway down the hall. "Don't worry tiny DJ, Amy is a coming!"

Aubrey and Chloe were now the only ones in the room with Beca, Chloe still sitting in the chair next to the bed, while Aubrey sat on a small loveseat by the window.

Hearing the Aussie screaming down the hall, Aubrey looked up to Chloe with raised brows. _Yeah, Amy was definitely going to get kicked out._

The door was suddenly thrown open, revealing the heaving girl. But as soon as Amy laid eyes on Beca's sleeping form, she froze.

The rest of the Bellas soon flooded in through the narrow doorway, joining Amy in shock as they all saw Beca for the first time since the accident. Aubrey had told them what had happened, but seeing Beca with their own eyes gave the situation a terrible realism.

Stacie was the first to move, walking around the group of girls to place a vase of flowers on the table next to the bed. She moved over to Chloe, placing a gentle hand on the grieving girl's shoulder.

"Hey", She said softly.

Chloe turned her gaze from Beca's resting form to look up at Stacie with red eyes. The brunette quickly leant down to wrap the redhead in a desperate hug.

"I'm sorry", Stacie held the girl tighter. "She's going to be okay. She's going to be okay", she said, as if saying the words aloud could magically make them true.

"Of course she's gonna be okay", Amy chimed in, her voice strained. "She's Beca effin Mitchell. She's a tough cookie…But you know, just in case, I could do a Tasmanian healing ritual on her. It's guaranteed to work 100% of the time it actually works", Amy joked, clinging to any semblance of normalcy for the group.

"What about the times it doesn't work?" Ashley asked skeptically.

"We don't talk about that."

"I've been buried alive", Lily whispered with alarming calmness.

The Bellas stayed for a while longer, reliving their favorite moments with Beca and comforting each other as best they could, until visiting hours finally ended and the hoard of girls were promptly ushered out of the room.

Chloe however had gotten permission to stay the night. After running home to grab the redhead a change of clothes and her computer by request, Aubrey had gone back for the night, promising to return first thing in the morning.

Jesse had gone home a little while ago, needing a shower and some sleep. Warren had also left, also needing to change and rest, before coming back later in the night.

Chloe sat in Beca's room, listening to the steady beep of the heart rate monitor while she watched the IV slowly drip into Beca's veins. Jill sat on the other side of the bed, reading the newspaper in one hand, while the other held firmly onto Beca's.

Chloe excused herself for a moment, getting up to take a quick walk around the floor, a breath of air, a drink of water…anything. She just couldn't stand to look at Beca so broken anymore. It physically hurt her to have to sit there and just wait; hope that the girl pulls through and opens her eyes.

Turning the corner down the stark white hallway, Chloe collapsed against the wall. Leaning her weight against the wall, Chloe closed her eyes, tilting her head back as she tried to catch her breath. It felt like she hadn't been able to breath since getting that initial call from Jesse.

"Excuse me, you're Chloe, right?" A male voice said cautiously. Chloe opened her eyes to see Dr. Copeland standing in front of her. She hadn't even heard the man approach her.

"Uhm, yeah", she blinked, confused as to why Beca's doctor had sought her out. Maybe this had something to do with the way he was eyeing her earlier. _Shit, did he like her?_

"I'm sorry to bother you, but could I ask you something kind of personal?"

"…Okay…?" _Crap, he's totally going to ask me out_ , Chloe thought to herself. _Doesn't he know her girlfriend is currently in that room fighting for her life?_

"Does Beca have a tattoo?" He asked carefully.

"Yeah, she has a few", Chloe said, too dazed to realize what the doctor was asking. "She has a grasshopper on her arm, a pair of headphones—"

"No", he cut her off, shaking his head. "What I meant was a soulmate tattoo?"

"Oh. Uhm, she…No. No she doesn't have one…" Chloe said hesitantly, knowing it wasn't information Beca made readily available to the world. But he was her doctor, maybe he had heard of someone else not having a tattoo like Beca. But why would he have noticed something like that?

"I think you need to see this", he said, pulling up a picture on his tablet.

Taking the tablet from the man's hand, Chloe was shocked by the image she saw. "Is that…?"

Dr. Copeland nodded his head softly.

"We didn't know what it was at first…but I think It's pretty clear."

Chloe felt like she was drowning.

"I know this is—"

"Can you please just go", Chloe whispered, too overwhelmed to say anything more.

"Chloe…"

"Please, just go", her voice cracked.

"I'll leave you be", Dr. Copeland nodded, gently taking the tablet from the girl's hands.

Once the man had rounded the corner, Chloe felt her legs give out, her body crumpling to the floor as the tears began to flow.

XXX

Chloe ended up spending the night in the hallway. The hospital had offered her a cot in Beca's room or even to use one of the on-call rooms for the night, but she had politely decline, choosing instead to sit in the hallway with her computer.

She couldn't bear to sit in that room anymore and just watch Beca. Especially now, knowing what she does.

Besides, Jill was in there with Beca, asleep in the chair next to the bed, one hand still holding onto her daughter's as she slept. Chloe didn't want to disturb her, so staying in the hall seemed like the best option. She could get some space from Beca and offer Jill her privacy, while still being close enough in case anything happened.

In the wee hours of the night, sitting alone on the hallway floor, heartbroken and confused, Chloe turned to music, again.

XXX

That's how Warren found her the next morning, tear-streaked and emotionally wrecked as she worked furiously on her computer.

Warren couldn't help but sigh at the sight of the poor girl. She looked truly exhausted, eyes bloodshot and encased in dark circles, her body trembling with anxiety, as she worked desperately to distract herself from the reality in front of her.

"Hi", He said carefully, sinking down next to the girl.

Chloe pulled the earbuds from her ears and shut her computer as she turned to look at the man tiredly. "Hi."

"Are you okay?" he asked.

"I'm not the one in a hospital bed", she scoffed back.

"Chloe", He sighed sadly. "What's wrong?" _Oh you know, besides the fact that her girlfriend might die?_

Chloe didn't even bother responding. Instead, she fished out her phone, going to her email and clicking on the attachment image the doctor had sent her earlier.

"Turns out Beca does have a soulmate", she croaked hoarsely, showing warren the image.

"Is that…?"

"Yeah", she sighed, a tear leaking down her cheek. "The doctor pulled me aside to show me last night. Turns out it's been there all along", she laughed derisively.

"How is that…? Why didn't he tell us immediately?"

"He said he wanted to wait until I was alone to tell me. I don't know", she shook her head, her mind jumbled from the chaos and the lack of sleep.

"Chloe…" he said softly, knowing exactly how the girl must be feeling. Warren wrapped his arms around her securely and pulled the girl into a firm hug. He whispered into her hair while she wept for what seemed lie the hundredth time this week. "She's going to be okay. She's going to wake up. You'll get to tell her. She's going to know", he whispered soothingly, desperately hoping his words would hold true.

"Chloe! Are you okay?!" Aubrey called out, her hair flying wildly as the girl rushed down the hallway. "Did something happen to Beca while I was gone?" She panted.

"No. Beca's the same", Warren told the frantic blonde. "I'm going to go talk to Jill for a bit, okay?" He said to Chloe. "It's going to be okay. This isn't how it ends. She's going to go off to L.A. and become some huge music sensation. She's going to be bigger than Rick Dees. I just know it", he added firmly.

Chloe wiped her tears and nodded.

"Chloe, what happened?" Aubrey asked, crouching in front of the girl.

"I'm Beca's soulmate", the redhead croaked.

"I know you love her Chlo", Aubrey said, acknowledging Chloe's feelings but not understanding the statement entirely.

"No. I mean, she's my soulmate. But I'm also hers", Chloe wiped her tears. "Turns out she's had a tattoo all along. We just couldn't see it", Chloe explained, offering the phone over to Aubrey so she could see the picture.

The blonde sucked in a sharp breath as her eyes scanned the picture. "Chloe." Aubrey read aloud. There, deep within Beca's chest cavity, was that tell-tale marking. The one the girl had been missing for so long, only have had the whole time.

"What if she never wakes up?" Chloe began to sob again, the blonde's gaze still fixed on the image. "What if she never gets to know?"

"She knows you love her Chloe", Aubrey said, breaking out of her daze.

"But she doesn't know she's allowed to love me back. What if—what if she dies without ever knowing. Oh my god—I can't lose her." Aubrey quickly swooped in, wrapping herself around Chloe's trembling body and letting the redhead sob into her chest.

"I don't know what's going to happen Chloe. I wish I did. I wish I could tell you it's all going to be okay, but I don't know that. Beca's really hurt and we don't know if she's going to get better", Aubrey said, tears now streaming down her own face. "But I can tell you this. That girl, without a doubt, one hundred percent loves you back. She may not have said it back to you, but she does. If she didn't, she wouldn't have run. She loves you Chloe. That much I do know."

In all honesty it didn't matter if Beca had a tattoo or not. Chloe loved her regardless and in her mind Beca was her Rebecca. Tattoo or no tattoo. But she knew it meant something to Beca. So knowing this now, only made it harder to think of the possibility of Beca not waking up, of never knowing she had a soulmate, of never feeling alone. She wanted Beca to wake up and see this. To know she was safe. To know she was loved. Now and forever.

XXX

Later that day, Chloe again found herself alone in the room with Beca. The girl still hadn't woken up and showed no signs of change.

Jill and Warren had left the room to discuss insurance and Beca's medical bills, while Jesse had gone down to the cafeteria for a little while.

Aubrey and Stacie were in the waiting room, the brunette having shown up at noon with food for the anxious bunch, simply choosing to give Chloe her time alone with Beca.

Chloe sighed, pulling her chair up closer to the bed as she placed her computer on the edge of the mattress next to the unconscious girl.

"So, the doctors said we should talk to you…I guess it helps or something…" she sighed again.

"I have some pretty big news to tell you", she struggled to say. "But you have to wake up. You have to wake up for me to tell you. You just have to…"

She took a moment to compose herself.

"I don't know if this is helping, or if you can even hear me, but I figured you always spoke best through music", she said softly. "I tried to make you a mix", she tells the girl, opening a tab on her computer. "It's pretty rough. God, you make it look so easy…." Her voice catching at the word 'make'. The prospect of Beca never waking up hitting her. She wouldn't _make_ anything anymore.

"My mom always said that music was the best medicine. Maybe this will help", Chloe said, pressing play to let the music fill the room.

 _"_ _Would you dance, if I asked you to dance?_

 _Would you run, and never look back?_

 _Would you cry, if you saw me crying?_

 _Would you save my soul tonight?_

 _Would you tremble, if I touched your lips?_

 _Would you laugh, Oh please tell me this_

 _Now would u die, for the one you love?_

 _Hold me in your arms tonight_

 _And baby, you're all that I want_

 _When you're lying here in my arms_

 _I'm findin' it hard to believe_

 _We're in heaven_

 _Oh once in your life you find someone_

 _Who will turn your world around_

 _Bring you up when you're feelin' down_

 _Yeah nothin' could change what you mean to me_

 _Oh there's lots that I could say_

 _But just hold me now_

 _'_ _Cause our love will light the way_

 _I can be your hero, baby_

 _I can kiss away the pain_

 _I will stand by you forever_

 _You can take my breath away_

 _I can be your hero."_


	19. Chapter 19

_Again, I'm not a doctor, so take it easy on me if any of this is wrong._

 _This is the final official chapter, but an epilogue chapter will be posted shortly :)_

 _thanks to all of you faithful readers and to my beta AgentVector!_

 _As always, F/F and REVIEW!_

 **Chapter 19**

Three days later, and it was still much of the same. Beca hadn't shown any signs of improving, though she also hadn't deteriorated. So, that was good. Or at least that's what the doctors kept saying.

Chloe hadn't left the hospital once since Beca's surgery. She spent the days by Beca's bedside with Jill and Jesse, playing music for the unconscious girl and talking to her as if she weren't asleep. Aubrey had packed Chloe a bag full of clothes and all her essentials once it became clear the redhead wouldn't be leaving the hospital anytime soon, and made it a habit to stop by everyday with Stacie to check in on both Beca and the heartbroken redhead. Chloe had finally accepted the hospital's offer to use one of the on-call beds to sleep in, opting to let Jill sleep in the room with Beca each night.

Jesse and Warren would come by first thing in the morning and usually stayed all day until they had to go home, opting to sleep in their own beds and return the next morning to start the routine all over again.

It was exhausting, and draining, and depressing, but there was nowhere else Chloe would be. She loved Beca, and she was going to be there for her. Through the good, and through the bad. She wasn't leaving.

XXX

Chloe was sitting in her usual seat beside Beca, while Jill sat in hers on the other side. The woman was reading a book quietly, while Chloe's computer pumped soft music through the room. Chloe was scrolling through her phone, checking emails and answering worried text messages from the rest of the Bellas when she heard a low groaning and felt the bed shift slightly.

Both she and Jill instantly looked up to see Beca shifting slightly in bed, eyes unopened but scrunched from the harsh light of the room. The girl released another small groan, whether from exhaustion or pain, Chloe wasn't sure.

In an instant, Jill was up and out of her chair, leaning over her daughter as she tried to coax the girl awake.

"Beca", she said softly, her voice trembling as she spoke. "Beca, honey can you open your eyes for me?"

Beca scrunched her brow again before lazily opening her eyes for her mom. The exhaustion was too much though and she quickly closed them again.

 _Hearing comprehension? Check! Jill thought._

"Stay here with her, I'm going to grab a doctor", Jill told Chloe, practically shaking with nervous energy. "Try and keep her awake", she added flying out of the room.

"Hey, Bec…?" Chloe whispered, placing her hand gently over Beca's.

"Mmpphh", Beca moaned, her head fuzzy as it tried to fight off the exhaustion. "Chlo?" She said hoarsely.

 _Speech? Check!_

"Yeah. Yeah, that's good Bec. Don't talk though, okay? Just try and open your eyes for me". She urged.

It took a few seconds but Beca was finally able to open her eyes fully, letting them adjust to the blinding white room.

"Are you in pain?" Chloe worried,

Beca did her best to shake her head no, the action making her dizzy.

"Okay", Chloe breathed a sigh of relief. "Just uncomfortable?"

Again, Beca did her best to nod.

"Okay. Your mom just went to get a doctor. She'll be right back, okay?"

Another small nod, as Beca's eyes drooped.

Not a minute later, Jill came rushing back in with Dr. Copeland, Jesse and Warren following quickly behind. Standing off by the door, Jesse looked like he might cry, while Warren was white with shock, simply struggling to stay upright at the sight of his now conscious daughter.

"Beca, I'm Dr. Copeland. It's good to see you awake. You had these nice people very worried there", the man said calmly, approaching the girl to check her vitals.

"Do you know where you are?" He asked.

"A hospital?" she croaked, her throat painfully dry.

"Good. Very good", he smiled. "Here, let me get you some water."

Jill quickly handed him a glass from the pitcher next to the bed.

The doctor helped Beca slowly sip the liquid, letting it soothe her sore throat.

"Better?"

She nodded, a little more awake than before, but still pretty tired.

"Do you remember what happened?" He tried carefully.

She shook her head.

"You were in a car accident. The cab you were in got t-boned at an intersection."

Beca looked panicked, her eyes wide as they darted between the worried people in the room.

"It's okay", he said calmly. "You're okay now. Everything's okay. Just try and stay calm", he soothed, noticing her heartrate spike on the monitor.

"You've been asleep for a little while now", he said, trying not to alarm the girl. "I just want to check a few things to see how you're doing okay? Then I can go over your injuries with you."

Beca nodded, letting the man begin his exam.

XXX

After a full workup, it came back that Beca had no major deficits and her stats appeared normal. She was sore, but considering the trauma she had sustained, she was lucky to not be in agonizing pain _. Thank God for morphine._

Her eyes were still sensitive from the concussion and Chloe could tell she was working harder than normal to breathe, but the doctor's assured her both would pass and that her body just had to heal.

She was going to be fine.

Finally, Chloe could breathe again.

XXX

For the next few days, Beca's room was constantly occupied by Chloe, Jill, Warren and Jesse, no one daring leave the recovering girl for more than a moment.

Beca mostly slept—the pain medication making her drowsy—but she was getting stronger. She was now able to eat and was back to talking—though her voice was still a little scratchy.

While she was asleep for most of the day, when she was awake, the visitors kept her entertained with cheerful conversation and quiet music—careful not to aggravate her concussion. If Beca weren't drugged, she would probably be annoyed with the level of positivity stuffed into the tiny room. It was as if simply talking about the accident would force Beca back into a coma.

Chloe hadn't had a chance to talk to Beca alone yet since the girl first woke up. She desperately wanted to tell Beca about her tattoo, but she also didn't want to burst the perfect little recovery bubble Beca was currently living in. Chloe didn't want to stress her out with something so monumental. The girl just woke of from a coma after all, she didn't need a heart attack on top of that.

So instead, the redhead kept her mouth shut, never mentioning the night of the accident or her newfound discover to the still bedridden girl. For now, Chloe was happy to just sit by Beca's bedside and watch the girl get better.

She wasn't going anywhere.

XXX

For the first time in days, Chloe found herself alone with Beca. It was awkward and tense, as both girls danced around the apparent elephant in the room. Neither girl knowing what to say or how to brace the subject, they simply settled for silence.

But Chloe wasn't a silence kind of girl, she never was, and certainly not with Beca. Most definitely not after days of unconscious silence and one-way conversations.

"Do you want some water or something—" Chloe suddenly spoke, only to be cut off by Beca's nervous rasp.

"I'm sorry I ran", the brunette interrupted.

Chloe sighed, unable to avoid the topic any longer. "It's okay. I shouldn't have just sprung that on you. I understand, it's okay."

"But it's not. You told me you loved me and I ran off without a word", Beca played with the hem of her blanket. "I obviously have some abandonment issues…and I promised myself a long time ago that I would never do what my dad did to me to someone else; To make someone else feel that way…And I did that you that night…and then I got hit by a car. If that's not karma I don't know what is", She scoffed. "But I'm sorry, Chloe."

"Bec", Chloe said. "Beca, it's okay, really. It's forgotten." Little did she know Beca didn't want it to be forgotten. "I'm just relieved you're okay. You had us really worried there for a while", she began to get choked up. "I don't think anything you could ever do or say would even compare to how much it hurt seeing you in that hospital bed unconscious…And I'm so sorry I had any part in putting you there", she said with tear-filled eyes.

"Chloe. No. You aren't responsible for this."

"I know. Or at least, that's what everyone keeps telling me", she paused for a moment, emotion filling her voice. "Hearing them say you might never wake up, broke me inside…And I couldn't help but feel like maybe if I hadn't said anything to you…I don't know, maybe things would be different."

"That's stupid. Your Chloe Beale. You wear your heart on your sleeve and everyone knows it. It's kind of one of my favorite things about you."

Chloe quirked a small half smile.

"C'mon, Red. Hop up", Beca urged, patting the space next to her. "My legs are in dire need of someone to run their freezing-ass feet on them", she teased.

Chloe chuckled, shuffled in next to the brunette, the two squishing in on the small hospital bed, much the way they do on Beca's dorm bed.

"I made you a mix you know?" Chloe said softly, leaning into Beca.

"Really? Can I hear it?"

"You already have. I played it for you when you were asleep."

"Sorry to break it to you, but I didn't have some out of body experience while asleep. I don't remember", Beca said sarcastically.

"No need to be a smartass", Chloe nudged her—careful not to hurt the still healing girl.

"I thought you liked my ass?"

"You know I could always erase the mix right?"

"No, come on. I wanna hear it", Beca whined.

"It's not that good. But I tried", the redhead warned, reaching over to grab her computer.

"Queue it up DJ Beale."

Chloe rolled her eyes playful as she hit play, happy to be back in a normal rhythm with Beca.

This wasn't the time to tell her about the tattoo. She could wait to tell her. Right now, she was just happy to have Beca in her arms again.

XXX

Before long, two weeks had passed and Beca was being discharged from the hospital.

Jill had brought her home to Macon, Aubrey spearheading the organizing and packing of Beca's dorm room belongings to be shipped back for the girl.

Jesse and Chloe both followed Beca to Macon, Jesse going home to his parents and Chloe staying with Jill and Beca—after the older woman offered Chloe their spare room for as long as she'd like. Jill was happy to have the help, having to return to work, it would take a great load off her mind knowing both Chloe and Jesse were around to help keep an eye on Beca.

Beca was coming along well, standing and walking on her own as her breathing continued to improve. However, her arm was still in a sling, and with the reduced pain meds, her ribs were more tender than they had been in the hospital

Still, despite her injuries, Beca was determined to do things on her own. Restless and irritated by the constant babying, Beca found herself more short-tempered than usual.

Especially since Chloe refused to leave. Even after walking out on her declaration of love, Beca still couldn't seem to shake the redhead. Sure, she cared for her deeply and didn't want to have to say goodbye to the girl, but in her mind nothing had changed. She still couldn't give Chloe all that she needed; all that she deserved. She was beginning to feel suffocated again—not by Chloe presence, but by her own demons.

"Okay, there you go", Chloe said, propping another couch pillow behind Beca. "How's that? Does that help at all?" The redhead fussed.

"Yeah, thanks", Beca mumbled. "You know you don't have to stay right? You can leave." Beca said, the words sounding harsher than she intended.

"Oh. Is me staying here too much? Because I can go to a hotel if that's—"

"That's not what I meant. I meant that you don't have to be _here_. Don't you have finals? Graduation? What are you doing here with me?" Beca said.

"I already told you Aubrey got me out of my exams, same as you", Chloe said slightly confused.

"Chloe, you're about to graduate from college. Shouldn't you be spending your last weeks celebrating with your friends? You don't have to be here with me. You don't have any obligation to stick around."

"I _want_ to be here."

"Yeah, but you shouldn't! I can't offer you anything. Don't you get that?" Beca said in frustration.

"Is that seriously what this is all about?"

"Of course it is. How could it not be?" She asked. "I refuse to be the one to hold you back Chloe."

"Would it matter if I _were_ your soulmate", Chloe asked indignantly, because to her, that wasn't even a factor. But then again, she knew she had one.

"Of course it would. But you're not! And I'm not yours!" Beca yelled.

Chloe sighed, running her hands down her face in frustration. "I wanted to wait for a better time to show you this, but I guess now is as good a time as any", said reaching for her phone.

"It doesn't matter to me. It never has. But clearly it does to you, so here", she said holding her phone out. "The doctor showed me this after you came out of surgery."

Taking the phone from the older girl's hand, Beca soaked in the image. "But…", she opened and closed her mouth like a fish, trying to process what she was seeing.

It was just a lot of red, but there, amongst all the blotches and shadows were 5 distinct letters.

 _Chloe._

"It's there. It's always been there", Chloe said sympathetically. "This isn't temporary, Bec."

Again, Beca tried to speak but nothing came out. "…Where?" she finally managed to croak.

"It's on your heart…Ironic, right?" Chloe scoffed lightly.

"Oh my God", Beca breathed, eyes still fixed on the image.

"So can I stay now?"

"Oh my god", Beca began to sob, dropping her head into her hands as she cried. Chloe wasn't expecting that, but she quickly dropped to the couch, wrapping her arms around Beca and holding the shaking girl close as the realization set in.

This time she didn't have to let go.

XXX

"Ladies and gentlemen…your graduating class of 2012!" The dean announced.

The crowd erupted into a fit of applause, as the thousands of gown-clad graduates jumped from their seats cheering for their newly acquired diplomas.

Dodging through the crowd of graduates, Chloe weaved her way down the alphabet, until she finally found the one she was looking for.

Spotting a glimpse of that signature red hair, Aubrey turned and ran over to the girl, arms wide as the two collided in a bone crushing hug.

The two didn't say anything as they continued to hold one another tight. The culmination of their four years at Barden all leading to this moment.

Finally, Chloe released her hold on the blonde, turning to see their group of cheerleaders waiting to congratulate the pair. Chloe's parents stood next to the bunch of Bellas, smiling proudly, while the more conservative Posen's stood off to the side waiting to congratulate their daughter with nothing more than a firm handshake.

"We did it", Aubrey whispered next to Chloe proudly.

"Yeah we did", Chloe nodded, looking over their former group of misfits. They had done a lot more this year than just graduate. They had come together, overcome, and survived. Together.

"Congrats, Chlo", Beca said, wrapping the girl in a supportive hug once Liz had finally released her daughter from her endless embrace.

"Thanks", Chloe beamed, pulling back to kiss her girlfriend firmly.

Beca fisted Chloe's robe in her hands, pulling the redhead's body flush against hers.

"I love you", Chloe smiled, pulling back from the kiss.

"I love you too."

* * *

 _Let me know what you thought!_

 _come on over and see me on tumblr at actively-anxious or the-bechloe-bible :)_


	20. Chapter 20

_Alright guys, this is the official end of the road *cue Boyz II Men singing*_

 _Thank you to everyone who has read this story, and especially to those who have F/F and reviewed. ALso, a huge thanks goes out to my beta AgentVector._

 _I just want to say that im not natural writer, so completing this story is a huge accomplishment for me, so thank you everyone! I also wanted it done before school started, and i made that deadline, so double yay!_

 _Thanks again!_

 _I dont have a new story planned right now, but i am always open to suggestions or prompts._

 _Come hit me up on tumblr at actively-anxious or the-bechloe-bible_

 **Epilogue**

"Ladies and gentlemen, may I introduce to you, for the first time ever, Mrs. Beca and Chloe Mitchell!" The DJ announced into the microphone.

Hand-in-hand, Beca and Chloe walked through the large wooden doors and into the crowded reception hall, meeting the cheering faces of their closest friends and family.

They had both changed from their ceremony gowns into more party-appropriate attire—Chloe opting for a white cocktail dress, while Beca traded in her white gown for a more casual black dress and leather jacket. Chloe had caved and let her have the jacket when she vetoed Beca's request to wear chucks for the night. On their left ringer fingers they dawned their newly matching silver bands and sported identical grins as they entered the room.

"Congratulations! Oh, I'm so happy for you two. You girls were made for each other!" Liz practically squealed, running up to hug the pair.

"I can't believe my daughter is married. You're all grown up, when did that happen?" Warren said, shaking his head.

"About the time your hair started to go grey", Beca smirked, hugging the man.

"I'm so proud of you", He said into his daughter's hair, reluctantly releasing her from his arms. "You really couldn't have picked a better wife", He smiled fondly.

"I didn't have to pick her. It was always her."

Beca and Chloe slowly made their way through the rest of their relatives, all echoing similar congratulations for the newlyweds and each their own bone crushing hug.

"I can't believe you're _married!_ " Aubrey squealed, engulfing the redhead in a tight hug.

"I know, I thought for sure you and Stacie would beat us to the altar", Chloe smiled, happiness practically radiating from her body.

"You barely beat us", the blonde rolled her eyes, set to tie the knot not eight weeks later. "How is your hair already messy?" The blonde fussed, flattening out a few of Chloe's stray hairs. "You used like two bottles of hairspray", she said in confusion.

Stacie chuckled. "Relax Bree. Sex hair looks good on Chloe", the brunette teased with a wink. "Just let me know if it was in the coat closet. I had my eye on it for later."

Beca and Aubrey turned matching shades of red.

"We did not have sex!" Beca whisper yelled, careful none of her relatives had overheard the comment.

"We may have made out a little though", Chloe said with a mischievous grin, to which Stacie raised her hand for a high five.

"Gotta save something for the wedding night, I guess", Stacie shrugged.

"Four words: Two weeks. Bora Bora", Chloe added.

"Just wait till you open our wedding present", Stacie wiggled her eyebrows.

"Stacie! I told you no!" Aubrey squawked.

"Jesse!" Beca called quickly, her eyes wide in fear. "We need to add Stacie and Aubrey's gift to the pile with Amy and Lily's!"

XXX

"How are you doing, wifey?" Chloe smiled lazily, sinking down into Beca's lap.

Beca instinctively wrapped her arms around Chloe's midsection, letting the redhead rest against her.

"I think I get the whole 'wedding' thing now", Beca said looking around the room.

"Yeah?" Chloe smiled. She had been the one who wanted a real wedding. Beca didn't really care either way. If Chloe wanted a big wedding, she would do it, but otherwise, she would have been perfectly content with a private ceremony at city hall. Even before her tattoo fiasco, Beca had never been the kind of girl to fantasize about her wedding day. With her parent's tumultuous divorce, she had never been the type to open up or seek other's company. She retreated to within herself and resigned herself to a life of solitude.

But here she was, in a room full of people, all who had come to show their love and support; for her.

She finally got it.

And all because of Chloe.

"What's on your mind?" Chloe said softly, stroking a hand through Beca's silky, brown hair.

"I'm just really happy", Beca turned back to the redhead, a content grin taking over her face. "You make me really happy."

"Good. Because you're stuck with me now", Chloe pressing her lips against Beca's tenderly, her hand mindlessly stroking the band on Beca's finger. Beca. Her _wife_. Beca was her _wife_.

"Excuse me everyone. I'm sorry to interrupt the party, but I would like to steal all of your attention for just a moment", The DJ announced, from the small stage.

Beca quickly moved to get up, Chloe lifting herself from Beca's lap in confusion.

"What? Where are you going?" The redhead asked her wife.

"You'll see", The younger girl smirked, darting off to take the microphone from the man.

"Uhm, hi everyone. I'm Beca…duh." She face-palmed herself internally. "Sorry, I'm not the best with these things."

"I just wanted to thank you all for being here tonight to celebrate with Chloe and I. This day means so much more to us that you'll ever know. And getting to share it with Chloe and all of you, has truly made it one of the most amazing days in my life so far", She said sincerely.

"You know…I never thought I'd get so see today. I never thought I'd find someone to love me the way Chloe does; to accept me at my worst, and to support me through life. I never thought I'd get to love someone as amazing as Chloe; someone so selfless and optimistic. And I certainly never thought I'd get to see myself getting married. But here we are… and I couldn't be happier. And for those of you who knew me in my teen years, you know, a scowl and an attitude were my two favorite accessories. But now I have this", she said fondly, holding up her left hand at twirling her wedding band. "And it goes with everything…Chloe, I don't think I could ever thank you enough for turning my world around. You truly are my best friend and I am so, utterly, permanently, in love with you", she said, locking eyes with her favorite baby blues.

"So, if everyone could please raise a glass to my beautiful wife. Chloe, I love you and I can't wait to spend the rest of my life with you. This next song is for you."

XXX

"You need to take this off", Beca husked, running her hands along Chloe's dress in search of the zipper.

The two fumbled against the hotel room door, as they tried to steer their way further into the room without tearing the mouths from one another's. The task was made impossibly more difficult by the numerous drinks they had both consumed during the reception.

"It's on the side", Chloe offered, trailing kisses along Beca's jaw.

With Chloe's lips now nibbling and sucking along the curve of her neck, Beca was able to turn her head enough to finally pull the offending zipper down and free Chloe from its confines.

Stepping over the discarded garment, Chloe reattached her lips to Beca's in a searing kiss, as the brunette slowly walked them towards the bed.

The room was dark, having forgone the light switch in favor of kisses when they'd first entered, the two bumped into the dresser as they maneuvered their way around the room.

It was early into the next day and the two were still buzzing from the evening's festivities. The champagne coursing through their veins and the high of post-marital bliss sending them into a frenzy of passion and need.

Feeling the mattress hit the back of her thighs, Chloe let the two of them topple in an uncoordinated mess onto the freshly pressed bedding.

Drunkenly shuffling up the bed, Beca quickly found her own zipper, pulling it down and scrambling to join her wife's current state of undress.

Tossing the garment over her head, Beca barely had time to register her surroundings before Chloe was back on her and pinning her down to the bed.

Trailing a line of soft kisses down Beca's neck, Chloe slowly descended lower, in pursuit of Beca's black lacy bra.

Beca writhed under the redhead's touch, her hands scraping desperately at her wife's back, eager for more contact.

Reaching Beca's breast, Chloe hungrily kissed the mound. With closed eyes, the redhead palmed at Beca's chest, eliciting a string of breathy curse words from the younger girl as Chloe continued her assault.

Lazily opening her eyes, Chloe went to free Beca's breast from its' cup when she froze. Blinking drunkenly in the dim light, Chloe stared at Beca's chest in confusion.

"What's wrong?" Beca asked, sitting up slightly. "Are you going to be sick?" She worried, thinking maybe Chloe had drunk too much and the alcohol was suddenly hitting her.

Chloe didn't respond, mouth agape as she tried to process what she was seeing. _Was she seeing this? She did have a lot to drink._

Reaching out, Chloe delicately ran her finger along the top of Beca's breast in bewilderment.

Reaching out to turn on the bedside lamp, Beca craned her neck down to see what had Chloe so hypnotised.

And then she saw it.

There, scrawled across her chest in light ink was her wife's name.

Chloe.

"Did you get another tattoo and not tell me?" Chloe asked, her face contorted in confusion as she continued to scan the marking.

"What? No! I didn't get a tattoo. I didn't have this, this morning", Beca said, scrubbing a hand across her chest, checking to see if the ink would rub off.

It didn't.

"I-I don't understand. If you didn't get a tattoo, the how-how did you get this?" Chloe wondered.

"I don't know. But I swear I didn't get a tattoo. I mean, I don't think shops are even allowed to do name tattoos…are they?" Beca said.

"It's right above your heart", Chloe whispered, finally looking up to meet her wife's navy eyes.

"You don't think…That's not possible, right?" Beca said with wide eyes.

"I don't know…I didn't think it was possible to have a tattoo on your heart either", the redhead shrugged. Clearly Beca's tattoo was anything but ordinary.

"How…? Why is it here now though?" the brunette wanted to know. It had been twelve years, shouldn't the marking have shown up before now? Beca just didn't understand.

"It's lighter than normal", Chloe noticed, bypassing Beca's earlier questions. "It's grey, not black.

"I don't understand what this means…" Beca said quietly. She couldn't tell if it was the tequila making her dizzy right now or the tattoo.

"I guess it means you're stuck with me. Permanently." Chloe smiled, lacing her fingers together with Beca's.

XXX

 **3 years later.**

"You're seriously just going to let us leave with her? Take her home, just like that? Shouldn't you do a background check or something? How do you know we're fit to raise a baby? You do know serial killers and drug addicts can get pregnant, right?" Beca ranted to the nurse. It was finally the day Chloe would be released from the hospital and they could take Riley home. And to put it lightly, Beca was freaking the fuck out.

"I can assure you Mrs. Mitchell, you will be fine." The nurse smiled kindly. "She's your baby, you'll know what to do."

"I barely even know how to take care of myself! You seriously want me to just take her?"

"Well, we don't want her", the nurse joked. "Just calm down", She said soothingly, when her comment failed to reassure the tiny woman. "It'll be okay. That's what your wife's for", the woman smiled, motioning to the redhead, who was cooing over their swaddled baby girl.

"Now go, take your girls home", the nurse smiled warmly, handing Beca the discharge papers and pushing her towards the waiting pair.

"All good?" Chloe smiled from her seat in the hospital mandated wheelchair.

"Yep. She's officially been released to the wolves."

"Beca." Chloe chided.

"I mean world", The brunette quickly defended, wheeling her wife along.

XXX

Beca had just sat down next to Chloe, the pair fully exhausted after a long day back home, when a shrill cry broke through the house.

"Why do we even have a baby monitor? It's not like we can't hear her. The freaking Mars Rover can hear her", Beca mumbled tiredly. She loved Riley. She really did. But it was only their first day home with her, and Beca was already worn out. And she hadn't even done any of the hard work bringing the kid into the world.

Beca's pretty sure Riley didn't cry this much at the hospital. It was like the baby could sense Beca's new-mom anxiety, and decided now was a good time to put the woman to the test.

Chloe moved to get up from her seat, but Beca quickly threw out an arm to stop her wife. Chloe was still healing and Beca didn't want her to do any more than she absolutely had to. "I'll get her", The brunette offered, heading upstairs to retrieve the wailing infant.

"Okay. She's not wet. She just slept for like an hour. I guess she must be hungry?", Beca reasoned, carefully walking the baby over to her redheaded mother.

Waiting until Chloe had situated herself to feed the baby, Beca carefully transferred a now whimpering Riley over to Chloe before resuming her seat on the couch.

"I wonder if she'll keep your blue eyes", Chloe said, watching the newborn's eyes flicker open, before lazily closing again. The redhead delicately ran a finger over the infant's tiny hand.

When deciding to start a family, Chloe had suggested they use Beca's egg and implant it in Chloe—the brunette not wanting to carry a baby herself, but Chloe wanting the child to be as much a part of both of them as possible. They had chosen a donor who resembled Beca in completion and hair color, but held pale blue eyes, not far from Chloe's. That alone had sealed the deal for Beca.

"I know it's probably pretty unlikely, but it would be kinda great if she had your baby blues. I mean, I'd make up for her lack of red hair", Beca said, half-jokingly.

"Even if we used my egg, you know she probably wouldn't have red hair anyways, right?"

"A girl can dream, Chlo."

"I'm pretty glad she looks like you", Chloe said softly, watching the little girl squirm in her arms.

"Let's just hope she doesn't get my attitude."

Chloe chuckled, detaching the baby from her chest and handing her over to Beca so she could fix her shirt.

Beca stood, holding the tiny girl against her chest as she began to burp her. She had read nearly a dozen how-to parenting books before Riley was born, desperate to ensure she didn't screw up the tiny human too much. But so far, the nurse had been right and Beca's natural instincts had kicked in when tending to her mini-me. A fact she was seriously grateful for, as she had near zero experience with babies, and honestly found most people's kids maddening.

But Riley wasn't like that. Riley was perfect.

Or at least that's what Beca thought before the baby sputtered, spitting up a wet clump of milk straight onto Beca's black t-shirt.

"Oh, gross!" the brunette stiffened, trying not to move as to prevent the mess from dripping down her shirt. "Here, take her" Beca handed the baby off the Chloe, the redhead having to bite her lip to keep from laughing hysterically.

"This is NOT funny, Beale", Beca barked.

"It's pretty funny", She laughed "Right, Ry? Yeah." She said to the baby. "The juries out, Bec" the redhead shrugged teasingly.

"Ugh. Why are babies so messy? Why can't they pop out potty trained and ready to go?" Beca grumbled, pulling the shirt over her head.

She peeled off the garment, careful not to drip the mess all over their living room carpet, before turning to toss the shirt in the laundry.

"Wait!" Chloe called, halting Beca's movements.

"What?"

"Come here", the redhead waved the girl to stand in front of her.

One hand still holding the baby, Chloe reached up to feel at Beca's chest, brows furrowed in concentration.

"Chloe, I love you, but do you really think now is the time to try and cop a feel?" The brunette teased.

"Its darker", Chloe said.

"What is?" Beca asked looking down, to see her wife's hand moving across her tattoo.

"Your tattoo. It's darker. It's not grey anymore. Its black."

"Are you sure it's not just the light?"

"No. It's definitely darker", the redhead observed. "…It's like every milestone moment we have together, makes it more visible."

"Geez, why could this thing have shown when I was 16 and needed it. I don't need it anymore to tell me I found love", Beca said.

"Aww, Bec", Chloe melted, the pregnancy hormones getting the best of her.

"Gross. Motherhood's already made me soft", Beca grumbled turning to walk her shirt to the laundry.

"Mama's always been a big softy", Chloe whispered secretly to the baby in her arms.

XXX

 **16 years later.**

12:04 am.

"I haven't heard a scream yet", Chloe teased lightly, sitting cross legged on hers and Beca's bed. Her wife was currently pacing the length of the bed, anxious to hear _anything_ from their eldest daughter down the hall. "So that's good".

"I'm going to go check on her", Beca decided.

Beca had been more nervous than Chloe for Riley's 16th birthday. She was terrified her daughter would have to go through the pain and heartbreak she went through on her own birthday all those years ago. She hadn't considered this when Chloe first suggested using Beca's egg for the pregnancy, but now Beca was second guessing the decision. What if it was genetic? What if Riley didn't get a tattoo as well. Of course Beca knows now that she has one, and had all along, but she doesn't want her daughter to have to be injured and cut open just to find her own. She doesn't want her to experience the disappointment and loneliness that came along with finding nothing that day all those years ago

"Bec—", Chloe began softly, but her wife was already out the door and headed down the hall.

Beca nervously tapped on the door to her daughter's bedroom, careful not to wake their youngest daughter in the room next door.

She didn't hear anything for a moment, but then a small voice finally called her in.

"Hey", Beca said tentatively, standing in the doorframe. "Everything okay?"

"Relax. I have one", The girl said, studying the inside of her right wrist. "His name's Adam."

Beca released a sigh of relief, the tension immediately leaving her body. But her daughter didn't seem happy. She looked confused.

"What's wrong? Aren't you happy?"

"Something's wrong", Riley said, touching the fresh marking. "It's moving", she looked up to her mom in confusion.

"What? Let me see", Beca said, rushing over to inspect her daughter's wrist.

Sure enough, above the permanent etching was a small matching arrow. Every time Riley moved, the arrow rotated slowly around the new name marking her skin.

"Wait. Turn that way" Beca said. Riley obliged, shifting to her right. The arrow moved as her body did, always pointing towards the dresser as she turned.

"See?" Riley panicked.

"It's like a compass or something", Beca breathed.

"This isn't normal mom. What if something's wrong?" Riley's eyes filled with nervous tears.

"Hey. Hey, look at me. Nothing is wrong", Beca said softly. "The deal is, you get a tattoo on your birthday, right? Look at it this way, you got a tattoo and a little something extra. You have an advantage", Beca tried to calm the girl. She of all people knew how terrifying it was to not just have a soulmate's name like everyone else.

"How did you deal with not having one?" Riley asked in a small voice. Beca and Chloe had always been very open with their kids about Beca's tattoo. Chloe told it as the romantic story of how they fell in love, but for Beca, there was always the linger thought of the same happening to them, and she wanted to prepare them for that. She wanted to protect them.

Beca sighed, it was still hard to talk about; The pain never seemed to truly fade. "It was awful…I was terrified and I felt like I didn't have anyone to talk to about it…I just felt really alone all the time. Even when I had Uncle Jesse and mom right there next to me, I couldn't shake the feeling that I was all by myself."

"But I'm going to tell you something I've learnt since then, and I want you to remember this", She said firmly, locking eyes with her daughter's matching ones. "You don't need a tattoo to tell you who you love. That's what your heart's for. As long as you follow that, you'll be alright."

Riley nodded thoughtfully.

"If you ever need someone to talk to, you know I'm always here, okay?"

"I know", Riley cracked a small smile.

"Okay, come here", Beca smiled, wrapping her daughter in a protective hug. She never wanted her to feel the way she had; She never wanted her to think that she was all alone. "I love you."

"I love you too mama."

XXX

Creeping back into her room, Beca quietly crawled under the covers next to her wife.

"What's the verdict?" Chloe asked, drowsy with sleep.

"Adam", Beca said simply, snuggling up to her wife's form. "She's gonna be okay", Beca said aloud to herself.

"You were", Chloe offered, untangled a hand from the sheets to run brush softly against Beca's cheek.

"You know, as hard as it was, I'm glad everything worked out the way it did. It makes you appreciate everything so much more. Now I have you and the girls. I have so much more than I could have ever dreamed of. And I couldn't be happier", She said softly.

"It was always you", Beca added sincerely, the dim light making Chloe's eyes sparkle against the night.

"I love you", Chloe smiled tenderly.

"I love you too", Beca whispered, lovingly pressing her lips to her wife's before wrapping her arms around the redhead and drifting off to sleep.

This is how it was meant to be.

Permanently.

* * *

 **The End!**

* * *

 _Thank you again for reading :)_


End file.
